


The Lost Ace

by SidKozume



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: And Angst oops, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Anxious Azumane Asahi, Asahi owns a coffee shop, F/M, M/M, Pining, Purely Fluff, barista azumane asahi, kiyoko also works there, literal chaos, maybe sugawara/daichi?? Idk yet, nishinoya and tanaka are roommates, there is no smut so don't go looking for it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidKozume/pseuds/SidKozume
Summary: Back in high school, Asahi Azumane left his volleyball team in his second year. He never played volleyball after that. The shame of abandoning his team was nearly forgotten...Now, 22-year-old Asahi is living the dream; he works and runs his own coffee shop. But old memories resurface when a short, (and beautiful) old friend appears at his cafe unexpectantly. Asahi sees this as an opportunity to fix the broken friendship once left behind. But with memories comes guilt, and he has plenty of both.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi & Sugawara Koushi, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Nishinoya Yuu & Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Sawamura Daichi & Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 49
Kudos: 120





	1. Coffee for Crows

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S FINALLY HERE! To all of my followers on TikTok (@sidkozume), thank you so much for being patient!!
> 
> Also, credit for the name of the fic (the lost ace) goes to @sugawaras.fat.shlong (oh my gosh what a name) on TikTok :)))))
> 
> Anyways I don't really know where I'm going with this fic so please don't have high expectations lolll
> 
> I will do my best to post every week or two but I have school and volleyball so ://// (I will try very hard) 
> 
> ALSO! if you have any recommendations or thoughts on what should happen next, please comment!!! :))))
> 
> This first chapter is very long because I had to set up a lot of contexts :) ENJOY THE FIC!

“Asahi-saaaaaaaaaan!” A familiar voice whined. Asahi sighed. He set down the mug he had been cleaning and turned towards the door. A silver-haired man strode towards him, as the few other customers turned to give him a curious glance.

Asahi smiled. “Suga-san. What can I get for you?”

Sugawara waved him off absentmindedly as he took his usual seat at the counter. “You know what to do.” Asahi nodded and turned to prepare his regular. Green tea. He got the same thing every time, as most people did.

“I’m bringing some friends today, Asahi.” Asahi turned to look at him. Suga was resting his head in his hands, smiling slyly. “They aren’t here yet, though.”

“I see.” He set a mug of fresh green tea in front of Suga. He took a sip and flashed his shiny smile. 

“Perfect, as usual.” He commented. Asahi smiled. Though it wasn’t infrequent, he enjoyed the compliments given to him by Suga, by any customer really. It made him feel that he had something to be proud of. “You’ve made quite the name for yourself, you know?” Suga spoke between sips. 

Asahi chuckled. His cafe, Coffee for Crows, (Sugawara had picked out the very cheesy yet adorable name), wasn’t nearly as successful as his friends often made it out to be. Still, he enjoyed the comfortable life it gave him. He knew almost all of his customers by name, and he liked that.

“How is university?” He asked as he began making himself his own tea.

Suga groaned dramatically. “God, I am so stressed. All of this to get paid minimum wage as a teacher? Maybe I should’ve skipped college, like you.”

“I’m living the dream.” Asahi answered, smiling. 

“Yes, but…” Suga poked him playfully. “Asahi-san, when are you going to get a girlfriend?” The question took him off guard. It wasn’t unlike Suga to be so direct with his inquiries. But it just seemed a very random question.

“Uh, I don’t know. I’m content where I am now. Bringing another person into my life might upset that balance...” He sampled his tea.

“Mmm, makes sense.”

Asahi couldn’t help his curiosity. “Why do you ask?”

“Ah, it’s none of my business.”

Asahi sighed. Suga considered everything his business.

“Just say it.”

“Well…” He began, “Have you ever considered getting… a boyfriend?”

Asahi choked on his tea. “A… boyfriend?!”

Sugawara threw up his hands in defense. “Well, I’ve never seen you show any interest in a girl before!” 

“You’ve never seen me show interest in a man before either!”

“Right… anyway, as I said, it’s none of my business.” He smiled, satisfied, as he sipped his tea once more. “But I could hook you up with someone if you are interested.” He added with a mischievous wink.

Asahi scratched his neck, embarrassed. It was true that he hadn’t ever been in a relationship with a girl before. He had never even found himself interested in Kiyoko, his stunning coworker, and friend since high school. He wouldn’t have a chance, of course, even if he had been attracted to her. 

The cafe’s doorbell chimed. Out of the corner of his eye, Asahi saw two people approaching, though he didn’t take much notice of who they were. Kiyoko came out from the backroom, her head immediately looking towards the figures. She pursed her lips and turned back to Asahi. He frowned and turned his eyes to look in the direction of the customers.

His jaw dropped.

“KIYOKO-SENPAI!” Shouted the taller of the two. His shaven head was hidden underneath a beanie, and his eyes were glued to Asahi’s coworker. Tanaka-san. He looked nearly the same as he did back in high school. He did, however, have quite a few more piercings than Asahi remembered. 

But it was the man behind him that had Asahi’s attention. He was small, with gelled black hair tucked into a beanie like Tankaka’s, the only exception being the two blond strips of hair that framed his face. He was decorated with a nose ring and wore a volleyball sweatshirt. A Karasuno volleyball sweatshirt. Nishinoya. Noya hadn’t yet noticed him, his eyes also focussed on Kiyoko, with a goofy smile that made Asahi giddy.

Asahi felt watchful eyes on him. He turned to see Sugawara staring at him, and Kiyoko glaring at Suga. She looked worried like she was preparing to grab him if he turned to run. But Suga seemed thrilled as if he was about to get the best entertainment of his life. Ah, these are the “friends” Suga-san mentioned, thought Asahi.

Asahi felt the strange desire to throttle Suga but decided against it. Murdering a customer would be bad for business. 

He bent his head low, hoping his uniformed cap would cover most of his face. Unfortunately for him, it was very difficult to not notice him; he was built like a literal oak tree, with broad shoulders and long, brown hair pulled into a bun during the workday. Often, he was informed of his terrifying physique; he had several scary nicknames, including "Samurai Guy."

“Kiyoko-senpai! I didn’t know that you worked here! Suga-san invited me and Noya here for lunch today, but-” Tanaka trailed off as his eyes fell upon Asahi. “Asahi-senpai?” He gaped. Quickly, he twisted his head to look at Nishinoya, eyes wide. Noya was already looking. Asahi and he stood in awkward silence, neither daring to break eye contact.

Suga cleared his throat. “Ah, why don’t you two order and-”

“What the hell, Suga?” Nishinoya whispered. His face remained calm, but his words were laced with anger. He had every right to be angry. It was, after all, Asahi who had abandoned him. 

Suga showed no sign of fear. He never had when it came to his friends, a trait Asahi desperately wished for. “Nishinoya, sit,” Suga commanded. He turned to Tanaka. “You too.” Tanaka did as he was told, like a child afraid to upset his mother. Nishinoya hesitated but followed suit. The two customers sat to the right of Suga at the counter. Noya stared at his hands and Tanaka looked up at the ceiling, probably praying. Suga simply smiled and turned back to Asahi. To him, this was nothing more than another family outing.

Asahi cleared his throat. He was an adult. Some petty high school drama shouldn’t make him this nervous. It did, though. He would just have to pretend that it didn’t. “Can I, um, get you two something?” His mouth felt dry. He only looked at Tanaka, because Nishinoya’s glare might put a hole in him.

“Um, I’ll have a coffee. Some sugar packets too, please.” Tanaka answered. He glanced at Nishinoya, who was still sulking and made no move to order for himself. “Go ahead and get him a smoothie.” Tanaka looked at the chalkboard menu above Asahi’s head. “Mango should be fine.” He finished.

Asahi nodded. He went to the backroom, shutting the door. He let out a shaky breath. His heart was beating at a concerning speed. 

Holy crap, I’m having a heart attack! I need to get Kiyoko or Suga! Wait, I shouldn’t bother them. Ah, I guess I’ll just die, then, he concluded.

But the sweet relief of death was too good to be true. Instead, his heart calmed down, and he set out to get the coffee and smoothie. He could only stay back here for so long until it got suspicious. There was a knock at the door. Asahi’s heart began to pick up the pace again. The door opened and Kiyoko poked her head inside.

“Asahi-san? Can I come in?”

Asahi nodded. She scooted in awkwardly. Everything she did was so endearingly adorable, Asahi often wondered how he wasn’t attracted to her.

“Are you alright?”

Asahi nodded again. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

“Are you really?”

He stood there a moment, before shaking his head. She waited for him to voice his concerns.

“He hates me.” He whispered.

“He doesn’t.”

“He does.”

“He doesn’t. You’re doing it again. You overthink everything and end up making the situation worse than it is. He doesn’t hate you. He just doesn’t know how to react.”

Asahi took a deep breath. Kiyoko was an honest person. She was the only person who had still talked to him at first when he left the team. She was telling the truth. But that didn’t stop the nagging voice in his head from telling him that Noya-san really did hate him.

“Perhaps…” She hesitated. “Perhaps this is a good thing, Asahi-san. You and Nishinoya were good friends and...this might mean that you can rebuild that friendship.” She smiled. Kiyoko wasn’t an optimist. She just said what she thought to be true. So she must have believed that it could happen. Asahi didn’t.

“Yeah...maybe. If he doesn’t hate me.”

“He doesn’t.” She looked down at Tanaka’s half-made coffee and took the mug from his big hand. “I’ll finish his coffee and I’ll get the smoothie.” She busied herself, making both drinks as Asahi leaned against the counter and buried his face in his hands. “Come out when you’re ready.” She turned to leave but paused by the door. “But if you aren’t "ready" in 15 minutes, I’ll let loose Suga-san in here.” Asahi shuddered. There was no way he would let that happen.

About five minutes passed before Asahi decided it was time to leave the backroom. 

As he stepped out, he could hear Tanaka-san and Kiyoko-san conversing. He feared that Nishinoya had left already, as it was unlike him to ever not be talking. What do I know about him anyway? I haven’t talked to him since his first year. But Noya was still there, eyes focused on his hands. His head perked up as he noticed Asahi entering. Asahi looked away immediately. Maintaining eye contact was not his strong suit. He could feel Nishinoya’s watchful eyes on him as he made his way to the counter. Willing himself to ignore it, he turned to a new customer who had just arrived. 

“Kiyoko-senpai, you look really good in your uniform! Right, Noya?” Tanaka elbowed Nishinoya in the side, forcing him to look away from Asahi. He gave a solemn nod and continued to stare at Asahi. What the heck? Asahi thought, Noya is usually obsessed with everything Kiyoko does and says. Asahi reminded himself, once again, that it had been years since he’d spoken to Nishinoya; he could have completely changed since then. A wave of guilt washed over him. He really did deserve all of Nishinoya’s hatred.

Once finished serving the other customer, Asahi had no other distractions. He decided he should just make a run for it and hide in the backroom till another customer came in. He stole a glance at Noya, who had finally turned his attention away. He would have to cross paths with him to get to the backroom. Scary. He took a deep breath and hurriedly strode towards the back room.

“Asahi-san.”

He froze. But I’m so close, he thought. Turning his head, Asahi saw that Nishinoya was once again looking at him. He took a deep breath. His heart began to, once again, malfunction. Calm down, calm down. Run. Run far away. His thoughts screamed and clawed in his head. He approached Nishinoya warily. 

They stared at each other. Asahi wasn’t blind to the fact that the rest of the group’s conversations had ceased and they were all now looking at the pair. Suga grinned and hopped off of his stool, gesturing for Tanaka to follow. Kiyoko left for the back room with the excuse that she was going to wash the dishes. Now, no one is here to save me from his unfiltered wrath, Asahi thought with a shudder. Run.

“I tried to talk to you, you know. On your graduation day.” Nishinoya spoke quietly.

Yes, I know. I avoided you. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me. Please, his mind pleaded.

“Ah. I must’ve not seen you.” I did.

“You did. I saw you turn a bit when I called out to you. You ignored me.” Noya accused.

Asahi remained silent. He was right. Right before he had left his graduation ceremony, he had heard Nishinoya shout out to him. But he had ignored him, pretended like he couldn’t hear him.

“Why didn’t you ever speak to me?”

“I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me.”

“I didn’t. Still would’ve been nice, though.”

They sat in silence again. This time, Asahi decided to man up.

“Nishinoya, I’m sorry. The things I said back in high school...I’m sorry. You have every right to hate me but-”

“Hate you?!” Nishinoya’s wide eyes were boring into his soul. “Asahi-san! I could never hate you! Is that what you thought?” Suddenly remembering that he was supposed to be angry, his brows turned back into a scowl.

Asahi nodded weakly. Nishinoya grunted.

“I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you. I was mad, but I didn’t hate you.” Nishinoya’s voice broke. Asahi had the sudden desire to scoop him up and cradle him in his arms. His face reddened. “I just…” Noya sighed. “I just wish you would’ve talked to me. I wish you had come back.” He mumbled. 

“Me too.” Asahi confessed. Nishinoya’s head perked up.

“You do?!”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t? We needed you!”

“I...I was afraid. I don’t know. I’m sorry.” There wasn’t much more he could say. If he could do it over again, he would go back to his team. But he couldn’t.

Once again, they sat in silence. Assuming the conversation was over, that Nishinoya didn’t want to talk to him anymore, Asahi turned to leave for the backroom.

“Tanaka-san is an amazing volleyball player, but he wasn’t you. He wasn’t supposed to be the ace that year.” Nishinoya said, abruptly.

Asahi turned back to him, who looked up, his face pink. “Ah...he’s much better suited to be an ace than I was.”

“That’s stupid! You’re stupid!” Noya pointed a finger, standing up so suddenly that his chair was pushed backward. “You’re amazing Asahi-san! You’re an amazing volleyball player! You were an amazing teammate! Why can’t you see that?”

Asahi felt his heart in his throat. It’s not true. He’s wrong. He’s lying to you. He hates you. You’re terrible. Runaway. Run. His head hurt from his brain's annoying tantrum. He pushed those thoughts down and swallowed.

“Thank you, Nishinoya-san.”

“Give me your phone. Now” He held out his hand expectantly. Asahi obliged. Nishinoya typed something aggressively, then handed it back to him. “I put my number in your phone. You’re going to come to play volleyball with us.” He waited for Asahi to refuse.

Asahi stared at the phone in his hands. 

He gave me his number, he thought. Even though it wasn’t like that, he still felt his face turning red.

“Okay.” He whispered.

Nishinoya raised his eyebrows. He seemed surprised that Asahi had actually agreed. “Well, just text me then. I’ll tell you when we next get together to play.” Asahi nodded. 

Nishinoya hopped off his stool and walked over to where Sugawara and Tanaka were talking in a booth. He said something, and Tanaka grumbled and looked around. 

“Asahi!” Tanaka called out to him. “Tell Kiyoko that I’ll come to see her again tomorrow!” He gave Asahi a thumbs up, to which he smiled and nodded in reply. At least Tanaka was the same.

The three of them got up to leave. Suga and Tanaka waved. Nishinoya didn’t even look at him. He let out a shaky breath. He didn’t feel like Nishinoya hated him. Maybe there was hope for them after all. For their friendship, of course.


	2. Maybe it was the Homeless Guy Joke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi is a bundle of nerves but he makes a friend in the park at 1 AM.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably won't usually post this often, so don't get used to it :) Anyways, I have a feeling you guys will really like this chapter (a special someone makes an appearance)

Asahi paced around his apartment, drumming his phone in his hand. How soon was too soon to text Nishinoya? Here was the dilemma: if he texted him too soon, it would be creepy. He would come off as too eager, which he was, but Noya didn’t need to know that. But if he texted too late, Nishinoya would think he was blowing him off. Then he would never want to talk to him again and the cycle would repeat. He had already thought out dozens of possible things to say, but they all sounded weird and awkward and totally like something Asahi would say.

It’s only been a day, he thought, maybe I should wait longer. But what if I’ve already waited too long.

Asahi groaned and flopped onto his bed. He opened up his laptop to research how long you should wait to text someone but his phone buzzed. He peeked at it; it was a message from Suga.

**Sugawara Koushi: Text Nishinoya. He thinks that you’re ignoring him.**

**Asahi hurriedly opened his phone.**

**You: What am I supposed to say?**

**Sugawara Koushi: Idk, “this is Asahi?”**

**You: Isn’t that too forward?**

**Sugawara Koushi: You’re just giving him your number?**

**You: Exactly.**

Asahi sighed and opened Nishinoya’s contact. He typed what he hoped to be a casual sounding message.

**You: Hey Nishinoya, this is Asahi. Sorry for taking so long to text you.**

He took a breath and sent it.

Well, it’s done now, I guess, he thought.

That didn’t stop him from nearly jumping through the roof when his phone buzzed back a moment later.

**Yu Nishinoya: UGH!!! FINALLY ASAHI-SAN!!! ive been waiting for foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. we are going to play volleyball this weekend. COME JOIN!**

**You: Who is “we?” The old team?**

**Yu Nishinoya: mostly plus some other old friends. OH and some of the teammates you never got to meet. youll see when you come.**

No room for saying no, I suppose, he thought. Asahi rubbed his neck.

**You: I’ll come. Where is it? And what time?**

Nishinoya texted him an address to a local indoor court and the time they would meet there. Asahi wrote it down on a sticky note just in case. Then, he wrote it down on a second sticky note just in case he lost the first one. Then, he decided to just memorize it, in case he lost both of the sticky notes.

___ 

The night before Saturday, the planned meetup day, Asahi felt restless. He knew he shouldn’t; they were just his old teammates, his old friends. Emphasis on old. What if they all hated him? Nishinoya was a forgiving person, kind of, but what about the rest of them? Had Noya even told them he was coming? What if when he showed up, they all told him to leave? Maybe that was unreasonable, but it certainly wasn’t impossible. Or what if he was so rusty, so terrible, they just laughed at him? He hadn’t played volleyball in a very long time. And what about these other people he hadn’t met? They would have been first years when he was a third year. What if they didn’t like him, or if they even hated him, because of what they had heard about him? What if they had replaced him? What if everyone was laughing and talking about old times and Asahi would be left to listen and feel guilty all over again.

Unable to sleep, Asahi pushed himself out of bed, threw on some sweatpants and a hoodie, and walked out into the cool night. He needed some fresh air. He wandered to a local park. Finding a park bench, he sat down and gazed up at the stars. They were beautiful.

His admiration was interrupted by heavy breathing. He looked towards the faraway noise to see a tall, young man jogging through the park. The man wore sweatpants and some band’s t-shirt; his dark hair was long, though not as long as his own, and was pulled into a short ponytail. Asahi glanced down at his phone and saw that it was 1:08 AM. He looked back up at the man, confused. Who went for runs at 1 AM? Then again, he probably looked pretty strange as well.

Feeling suddenly self-conscious of his own situation, Asahi turned his eyes downward and stared at the grass below him. He waited for the sounds of paced steps and staggered breathing to pass him, but instead, he heard the footsteps slow down. He looked up. The man was standing there, only a few feet away, staring at him. For a moment, the two of them just held one another’s gazes. Then, to Asahi’s surprise, the man laughed.

“Dude, who just hangs out at the park in the middle of the night?” His smile quickly faded as he worriedly said, “Wait, you aren’t homeless, are you? I am so sorry, that was super insensitive. I’m, like, really sleep-deprived.”

Asahi snorted. “I’m not homeless.” He said, snickering. Maybe he was also a bit sleep-deprived. “Also, you’re on a run in the middle of the night, so I don’t think you have room to judge.”

The man grinned once again. “Yeah, you’re right.” Silence fell between the two before he spoke again. “What are you doing out here, though?”

Normally, Asahi would feel very anxious telling a stranger about himself. Especially a weird one at a park in the dark. But for some reason, maybe it was the homeless guy joke, he felt a bit more at ease. Or maybe it was the stars. “I needed some time to think.”

The man looked up at the sky, where Asahi’s attention had been just moments before. “Me too.”

Asahi couldn’t help his curiosity. “Why?”

He looked back down at him. It was obvious he was trying to decide whether or not he should say. “A lot has been going on right now, I guess.” He sighed. “I’m just kind of… struggling? I’m not sure if that’s the right word. I have this friend, who I’ve known for, like, forever. Recently though, I’ve realized I may think of them as more than a friend.”

Asahi stared at him, before saying quietly. “Them?”

The man frowned. He was choosing his words carefully. After a moment, he said, “He.”

Asahi held his gaze, then slowly, he nodded. “Me too, actually.”

The man’s eyebrows shot up and Asahi suddenly felt very embarrassed. He had never actually admitted it out loud. The only other person who truly knew about his feelings was Kiyoko, and she had figured it out all on her own.

“But,” Asahi began. “Well, we aren’t exactly friends anymore. Or we weren’t. I think… I think we might be getting there again. Tomorrow, I’ll be with him, along with some other friends, for the first time in a really long time. It’s nerve-racking. So many things could go wrong. I came out here to clear my head, I guess.” Asahi was surprised at just how much he shared with this stranger. He didn’t even share that much with his friends. But the man didn’t seem at all weirded out. Instead, he nodded his head understandably.

“You seem like a great guy. If this guy is into dudes, I don’t see why he wouldn’t like you.” He smiled. For some reason, he sounded genuine.

Asahi didn’t think that Nishinoya liked boys. He knew he liked girls, and what were the odds he liked both. Still, he felt strangely reassured. “Thank you.” He said. “I’m not great at giving advice, but I’d say you have a pretty good shot with yours as well.”

The man smiled and nodded. “Thanks.” He took out his phone and looked at it, then shook his head. “I better get going. I have plans tomorrow and I should probably try to sleep at least a little. It was nice meeting you. I’ll see you around.” He turned to go.

“Wait, um, I didn’t get your name. I’m Asahi Azumane, by the way.”

The man grinned.

"Tadashi Yamaguchi." Then he was gone, jogging back home.


	3. Facing the Great Wall Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi prepares himself to play volleyball with his old friends from high school, and some new ones too. But he's faced with a challenge he hadn't expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was kind of rushed and I just wanted to get it over with. as much as I love playing volleyball, it isn't very fun to write about lollll. also, my midterm exams are coming up soon so I won't be able to post the next chapters as often because I gotta study:////// also I explained some things about volleyball in the notes at the end if you were confused and if you're still confused you can just ask :)))

Asahi stared at himself in the mirror. He was wearing grey shorts and a white t-shirt, but he couldn't help overthinking his entire outfit. _Is it too much? Too simple? Do I look too intimidating?_

His phone buzzed and up popped a message. He couldn't help the way his heart skipped a beat as he read Nishinoya's name. 

**Yuu Nishinoya: your still coming right? youre not allowed to back out!!!!!! >:((((**

_How did he get one"you're" correct and not the_ other? Asahi let out a sigh. Sometimes, trying to understand Nishinoya's messages was like trying to understand an alien language. He sometimes had to look up what certain things meant; only yesterday did he learn what "lmao" meant.

 **You: I'm still coming. I'm afraid of what you would do to me if I didn't go!**

Asahi chuckled and grabbed his bag with his water bottle, towel, and wallet. He dropped his phone into the bag and swung it over his shoulder. Grabbing an apple on his way out of his apartment, Asahi headed towards the bus stop.

Asahi couldn't drive. No matter how much teasing he endured from Sugawara and Sawamura, he just couldn't bring himself to get his license. He got his permit back in high school, but he never used it. The thought of driving was terrifying. So many things could go wrong. He could get hurt or he could hurt someone else. He could total his car and then have to deal with the stress of getting it fixed or getting a new one. He didn't even fully understand how car insurance worked. No, he was perfectly satisfied with public transportation.

In fact, he enjoyed taking the bus. He liked to people watch. Today, however, when he stepped onto the bus, there was only one other person, a young man probably not older than himself. It was relatively early and a weekend, so it made sense. He swiped his IC card and made his way to the back of the bus.

The man was already sitting in the back. He had short, blond hair, somewhat hidden by his bulky headphones, and his eyes were framed with simple glasses. Asahi smiled at him politely. 

Asahi sat a few seats away and checked his phone. Nishinoya had sent a selfie of him and...was that Ennoshita? He thought that Ennoshita had left the volleyball club during his first year. Maybe he had rejoined? 

**You: On the way. I'm on the bus now.**

**Yuu Nishinoya: TANAKA JUST GOT HERE HURRY UP!**

Asahi smiled. He wasn't sure how Nishinoya expected him to "hurry up" when he wasn't the one driving the bus. 

After some time, the bus slowed near Asahi's stop. He noticed the blond man, who had stood up to get off as well, was nearly as tall as himself. He hopped off the bus and opened his map on his phone. After typing in the address, which he had shamelessly memorized, he headed towards the gym where they were meeting. Often, he had to swipe away Nishinoya's constant flow of messages asking how far he was every two minutes. 

After a few minutes of walking, he noticed that the tall man from the bus was walking in the same direction. The stranger reached the gym first, as Asahi watched from behind and sent a quick "here" text to Noya. He was beginning to feel nervous. Wiping his sweaty palms on his shorts, he opened the doors and walked to the front desk. Nishinoya came bounding out of a corridor his right just as he reached the receptionist.

"Asahi-san!" His mood had completely changed since their last interaction. Now, he was overflowing with his usual energy. Asahi was thankful. This was the Nishinoya he knew (and loved).

Asahi quickly paid the woman, with Nishinoya hanging onto his arm like a monkey. Once he finished, Noya dragged him down towards the room he had come from. Asahi already heard the familiar squeaking of shoes on the gym floor. He felt as though he would be sick. His stomach churned like he was being tugged to his own death. _It's like going up against Date Tech all over again._

Nishinoya turned, noticing, and slowed to a stop when he saw Asahi's pale face. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Asahi just shook his head, unable to use his words at that moment. He wondered if Noya would be annoyed or upset. 

But to his surprise, Noya simply grasped Asahi's shoulders gently. "Do you need a minute?" 

_Yes._ "No." He didn't want to be a coward. Especially in front of Nishinoya. 

But Nishinoya didn't budge. His hands remained on Asahi's shoulders, and he found that he didn't really want them to move. 

"Are you nervous?" He asked softly. Asahi nodded. He wasn't sure he had ever seen Noya act so calm. "Well," he continued, "You don't need to be! You're a great volleyball player! I know you'll do amazing!"

After a moment, Asahi said, "I just don't know what they think of me. They probably don't even want me here, after what I did." 

Nishinoya quickly shook his head. "Asahi-san, everyone is happy to have you here." He paused, before quietly saying, "I'm happy to have you here." 

Asahi smiled and nodded. He was still a bit shaky, but Nishinoya's words, his voice, comforted him. Noya continued leading him to the volleyball courts; there were several courts, all side by side. Asahi's focus was immediately drawn to the loudest group.

He recognized a few people immediately. Sugawara was the first he saw, his bright hair easily catching the eye. He was laughing, and standing next to him was the second person he noticed. Daichi. He was still good friends with Daichi, though he couldn't visit the coffeeshop as much as Suga could. Daichi pointed to the two of them, and he and Suga waved. Then, of course, was Tanaka, who was very hard to _not_ notice. He was yelling something, pointing accusingly at...wait. 

"Who is that?" Asahi asked, pointing to, who he was pretty sure to be, the blond man from the bus.

Nishinoya made a face. "That's Tsukishima. He was a first-year back when you..." He hesitated, just momentarily, before picking back up, "when you were a third year. He's awful. He's mean to everyone except Tadashi." 

Asahi frowned. Where did he know that name? 

The pair reached the group, who were waving and smiling, greeting him like old friends. They _were_ old friends, so Asahi wasn't sure why he found it so strange. They patted him on the back and welcomed him warmly. _I don't deserve this,_ part of him thought. He pushed those feelings down. _They're lying to you._

_The only other person I recognize is Ennoshita and..._ his eyes scanned the room before they landed on someone unexpected.

"Yeah so," Nishinoya was introducing him to people he didn't know. "This is Tsukishima. Like I said, he's an ass. And this is-"

"Tadashi Yamaguchi." Asahi finished for him. Because there he was, the stranger he met the night before, he was sure of it. Tadashi stared at him, before a look of recognition passed over his face.

"Homeless guy." He laughed. Tsukishima looked between the two of them, frowning. 

"Homeless guy?" Nishinoya and Tsukishima said together.

"It's...a long story." Asahi turned back to Yamaguchi. "I had no idea you would be here. You played for Karasuno?" 

"Yeah, I did." He answered, grinning. 

"Wait, wait, wait, are either of you going to explain how you know each other?" Nishinoya held up his hands.

"Yeah, I'm pretty curious as well," Suga added. 

Before they could, however, a crashing sound echoed behind them, followed by a series of shouts so loud they rivaled Nishinoya's and Tanaka's. 

Asahi turned his head. Tsukishima groaned, mumbling, "The king and his shrimp are here." Yamaguchi elbowed him.

A tall, black-haired man stumbled in, followed by a shorter boy. No, not a boy, he was definitely grown; his size made it difficult to tell at first, as he was nearly as short as Nishinoya. The pair were arguing about something, then the smaller one shouted something about being faster and took off sprinting towards the group. The tall one was close behind, but, to Asahi's surprise, the "shrimp" could run remarkably fast for his height. Until he tripped, face-planting right at Tsukishima's feet.

Tsukishima clutched his stomach, wheezing with laughter. Everyone else joined in, and even Asahi couldn't help but laugh as well. The taller one had beat the other guy in their "race," and he was grinning like a madman as he stared down at him.

"You're a professional athlete and you can't even run without tripping." The dark-haired man teased ruthlessly. 

"That's Kageyama," Nishinoya said, smiling wide. "And the one on the floor," He bent down and tugged the red-faced man to his feet. "Is Shoyo!"

Noya then introduced Asahi to the two of them. The two newcomers directed their eyes toward Asahi. Shoyo looked at him, eyes wide. "Woah, you're huge!" He marveled. Kageyama smacked him in the back of the head.

"BOKE HINATA, BOKE! YOU CAN'T JUST CALL SOMEONE HUGE!" His shouting was followed by a string of loud and unnecessary apologies from Hinata.

Asahi smiled weakly. "Um, it's okay." He mumbled. 

"Okay, now that everyone knows everyone, LET'S PLAY!" Nishinoya shrieked. The group nodded their heads in agreement, though Tsukishima and Kageyama were still a bit distracted teasing Shoyo. 

"How do we decide on the teams?" Tanaka asked. "We only have ten people, so we'll have to be in teams of fi-"

"Wait, hold on!" Hinata waved his arms around, interrupting. "I invited a few more people. Is that okay?" He looked at Nishinoya, eyes wide.

Noya nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Who did you invite?" 

"Well, it took some convincing, but Kenma should come." 

Asahi frowned. He didn't recognize the name.

"And then I also invited Takanobu."

That was a name Asahi did recognize, but only vaguely.

Nishinoya frowned, " You mean..." His eyes widened and he glanced at Asahi, who noticed that Sugawara and Sawamura were also looking at him. 

"Umm...what?" He asked nervously.

Hinata's phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket. He made a face. "Kenma is going to be late. But Takanobu says he's here!" He turned towards the door, waving excitedly. "There he is!" 

The others looked as well. Asahi's eyes widened. Because there, walking towards them, was _the_ Great Wall of Date Tech. Or, at least, part of it.

Takanobu Aone, a first-year back when Asahi played them, was over 6ft. He had broad shoulders and long arms; he was _manufactured_ to block. He had easily blocked Asahi countless times in the last game he ever played before quitting. Now, he felt his heart rate speed up at the sight of him. His palms were sweaty as he nervously fidgeted with his t-shirt.

Nishinoya bumped him lightly with his shoulder. _I'm still here,_ he seemed to say. _I won't leave you._ And Asahi was grateful for it. 

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "How does that shrimp possibly make so many friends with the opposite personality. And they're always on different teams." 

"It's called being nice, Tsuki," Yamaguchi said, examining his nails, grinning. 

Asahi looked between the two of them. _Is Tsukishima the "friend" that Yamaguchi likes?_ He wondered. As if hearing his thoughts, Tadashi looked up, making eye contact with Asahi before hurriedly looking away, blushing. _I'll take that as a yes._ Nishinoya said himself that Tsukishima was only nice to Tadashi. Maybe the feeling was mutual. 

Aone had made it to the group and was now formally shaking hands with a very excited Hinata, thanking him for the invitation. _Shoyo is nearly as energetic as Nishinoya,_ Asahi thought. He had to wonder just how much influence Noya had had on Hinata, and whether that was a good thing. It probably was not. 

Aone looked up at Asahi, examining him, and he had the distinct feeling that he remembered him from high school. He began walking towards Asahi, who forced his posture up and took a deep breath. It was just a _part_ of the Great Wall. He would be okay. 

Aone pointed at him. "I remember you." He spoke, his voice serious and solid. Asahi inhaled sharply. Before he could say anything, Aone spoke again. "You were an excellent wing spiker." Then he bowed. It wasn't in a mocking manner, it was sincere. Asahi could feel his face and ears turning red. 

Hinata's eyes widened. "You know each other?!" His excitement grew, a feat Asahi wouldn't have thought possible. 

"Okay, okay, c'mon! Let's start! Kenma can join whichever team has fewer people when he gets here!" Nishinoya said impatiently.

"We should have the _actual_ team captains be the captains and pick whoever they want to be on their team!" Tanaka suggested. 

"Yeah, but, there are three generations of captains here," Sugawara commented. "Daichi, Ennoshita, and Tadashi."

Asahi looked at Tadashi, surprised. _Not only did he play here, but he was also a captain?_ He thought. He was just as surprised to hear that Ennoshita had been captain. Until today, he hadn't even known he was still on the team. Asahi knew that Daichi had been captain his third year, of course.

"It's fine, let Tadashi and Ennoshita be the captains," Daichi said, smiling. 

"Works for me," Ennoshita said. Yamaguchi nodded his approval. They played a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who would choose first, which Yamaguchi won. 

"Hmm..." He tapped his chin. He pointed at Asahi. "I'll take Homeless Guy." He smiled. Tsukishima scowled. 

"Me?" Asahi asked, surprised. Tadashi had never even seen him play. But he nodded anyway, and Asahi shuffled over, standing next to him awkwardly. 

Ennoshita picked Suga. 

"OH, OH! PICK ME!" Nishinoya waved his arms at Yamaguchi.

"Alright, Noya." He smiled, turning to Asahi and winking quickly. Asahi blushed. It seemed Tadashi had figured out who he had been talking about the night before. Tsukishima glared at Asahi. 

Pretty soon, the teams had been divided up. On Yamaguchi's team were Asahi as a wing spiker, Nishinoya as a libero (even though he had no one to sub in for), Tsukishima as a middle, Kageyama as a setter, Sawamura as a wing/DS, and Tadashi as the other middle.

On Ennoshita's team was Tanaka as a wing, Hinata as a middle (to Asahi's surprise), Aone as a middle, Sugawara as the libero, and Ennoshita as a wing. When Asahi asked why Sugawara was playing libero, he shrugged and said, 

"Kenma will want to be setter when he gets here. Until he gets here, I'll be the unofficial setter. Also, I've always wondered what it would be like to play libero." 

Asahi was nervous. Kageyama had never set for him before, and he was bound to be a bit rusty. Nishinoya must have seen the fear on his face because he slapped him hard on the back, saying, 

"Don't worry Asahi. No one is expecting you to be perfect. As long as you do your best, we'll be happy! Besides, I've got your back." He pointed a proud thumb at himself. Asahi smiled. _This sounds a lot like the conversation we had before I left._

The game began. Asahi tried to remind himself that the other team was short a person; they were at a disadvantage. The other team served and Daichi passed the ball easily. Kageyama's first set went to Tsukishima. He was tall and his contact point was impressive, to say the least. Still, he was stuffed by Aone. Tsukishima hardly even seemed phased. 

Before Ennoshita's team served again, Kageyama approached him. 

"Um, how would you like your sets?" When he wasn't with Hinata, Kageyama seemed a very awkward individual. Still, it was nice that he was making an effort. 

"Hmm..." He thought about it for a moment. It had been so long since he played. _Just picture how Suga would set for me,_ he thought. "High and away from the net," He decided. Kageyama nodded. 

The ball was served. Nishinoya made a perfect pass to Kageyama. Asahi took a deep breath and called for the ball. He felt his feet line up the way they always had before he started his approach for a spike. He felt his body take over for him, the routine of playing greeting him like an old friend. The constant buzzing in his head didn't stop, but it quieted.

He saw Kageyama's set arc high and away from the net, just as he had asked. Only a moment of admiration for the set was allowed before he began his approach. One big step with his left foot, then his arms swung behind him, giving him momentum as he took two smaller steps, right, left. He jumped and he was flying and it was wonderful. Asahi pulled his right hand to his ear, his left arm pointing upwards as a guide.

He could see Aone in front of him, shoulders high and hands pushed forward. This Great Wall was certainly still great, but it was smaller. There were more gaps. He was blocking just slightly to the right, which gave Asahi the perfect opportunity for a line shot. 

Keeping his eyes on the ball, Asahi thrust his right hand up to the ball, swinging his left arm down. 

There was a smacking sound. Hinata was ready to receive but taken off guard by Asahi's power. The ball swerved off of his arms and onto the gym floor, bouncing away. Nishinoya was the first to react. 

"YEAHHHHHH." Nishinoya roared, pounding his fist into the air before leaping onto Asahi the moment he'd turned around. He wrapped his legs around Asahi's waist, continuing his celebration as he hugged him tightly. He was vaguely aware that the others on his team were cheering as well.

Asahi wanted to get drunk on Nishinoya's shouts, on his voice. He wanted to keep playing volleyball forever and ever if it meant Nishinoya would keep holding onto him the way he was now. He wanted time to stop right here, at this moment. 

To his dismay, Nishinoya pulled his head away from Asahi's shoulder. For a moment, just a fraction of time, the two of them were frozen like this, staring at one another. It couldn't have been more than half a second, but it felt like an eternity. Asahi's blush deepened and even Nishinoya's face was dusted pink as he hopped off him. Yamaguchi came from behind, slapping him hard on the back. 

"I knew you would be a good choice. I had a feeling!" 

Daichi was next. "It's good to have you back, Ace." Asahi smiled.

"Thank you." 

Sugawara was smiling at him proudly from the other side of the net.

"WOW! THAT WAS AMAZING, ASAHI-SAN!" Hinata cheered loudly. He didn't seem at all upset that he had messed up his receive.

Even Kageyama tried to compliment him, in his own awkward way. 

The day continued like this. At some point, Kenma showed up. He was a small and quiet person, with long dark hair pulled into a bun. He was a fine setter, and he blended in well enough with the team. But his strongest quality, Asahi observed, was his strategic ability. 

Hinata was an incredible player, even as a Middle. Sugawara laughed, telling him he should watch Hinata and Kageyama play together. They earned the nickname _The Freak Twins_ back in high school, apparently. Now, both of them played professional volleyball, though for different teams. 

Asahi got blocked several times during their game. It upset him at first, but Nishinoya's encouragement and positive energy kept him going. And when that didn't work, he would smack Asahi in the butt and let out a thread of threats in case he didn't "pick himself up."

After a few hours, the group decided it was time to pack up. They collected their things. One by one, his old team, and some of his new team too told him they were happy to have him back. 

And it felt good to be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't know, an IC card is what some people use in Japan to pay for bus fares (I had to do a bit of research for that, haha).  
> A DS is a back-row player a lot like a libero but they can't sub in for any player and they can play front row; in their game, there isn't really a difference between the libero and the DS because neither team had any subs so the libero was just another backrow player (I hope that makes sense)  
> Sugawara playing libero is a little reference from that AU where he transfers to be a libero at Aoba Johsai (I love that AU sm)  
> Also, I changed the format, so hopefully, that doesn't bother people.


	4. Call me Yuu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi and Nishinoya's friendship blooms like never before. But what if it's more than just friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who wrote this chapter instead of studying for her chemistry exam (ㆆᴗㆆ)
> 
> hey guys, just a reminder that I have exams coming up pretty soon (kill me now:) so I likely won't be able to write and post chapters as often as I am. that's why I'm trying to get as much content out now as I can. anywayyyyys follow me @sidkozume on tiktok and enjoy the chapter

Nishinoya sat on Tanaka's bed, his upper body hanging upside down from the end of it. He swung his head back and forth, sighing. 

"I'm bored." The two shared an apartment as roommates, which was fun, except on days like these where there was nothing to do.

"Mhmm." Tanaka didn't even look up. He was laying on his backside on the ground, propped up by his elbows and clearly typing something on his phone.

"Who are you texting?" Nishinoya asked, curiously.

He hesitated before mumbling, "Kiyoko." 

Noya frowned. "Oh." 

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a bit longer before Nishinoya spoke again. "What do you like about her?" 

Tanaka shrugged. "She's pretty... but there's more to it. I like the way she walks, like those princesses in movies who have to carry books on their heads. And her voice is nice, calming. She's smart too. She never sugar-coats what she wants to say she just... says it. She's blunt but not in a mean way." He finished, staring at the ceiling wistfully. He turned to Nishinoya. "What do _you_ like about her?" 

Nishinoya frowned. He hadn't ever thought about it much. He just liked her because he did. But he would look stupid if he didn't say anything. "I don't know... she has nice hair? It's long and...pretty. It makes me want to learn how to braid so I can braid it all day and all night." He paused, closing his eyes. "I like the way she says my name. And she's got pretty eyes. Brown, kind of like...coffee." 

They sat in silence for maybe ten minutes before Tanaka sat up suddenly, turning to look at Nishinoya. 

"Kiyoko doesn't have brown eyes,"

Nishinoya blinked. 

"Shit."

* * *

Asahi wiped down the counter. There were no more customers and he had let Kiyoko go home 20 minutes before official closing time, 7:00, because why not?

Asahi heard the bell on the front door ring. He looked up. Nishinoya was walking towards him, smiling just a little too big. He wore baggy, black jeans and a too-big K-Pop band T-shirt, topped with an oversized jean jacket. His hair was hidden underneath a beanie. Asahi tried not to gape at how good Nishinoya looked, but he felt himself blushing anyway. Noya sat down on the stool in front of where he was wiping down the table. 

"Asahi-san, let's go out." He said, resting his head in his hands.

Asahi choked. "Wh-what?!" 

Nishinoya frowned. "Let's... hang out?" 

"Ah, okay. When?" 

Nishinoya checked his watch. "Now." 

"Okay... I need to finish cleaning and then I'll need to lock up." 

"I can help!" He quickly stood from his stool.

"That's alright... you just wait there. I won't be long." Asahi would feel bad for making someone who didn't work there help and clean up. Besides, he had a gut feeling that Nishinoya's cleaning skills weren't great.

Nishinoya sunk back into his chair, disappointed.

"So," Asahi tried to keep the conversation going. "What's the occasion?" He asked.

Nishinoya frowned. "Does there need to be an occasion for us to hang out?" 

"No, no! That's not what I meant...um." Asahi was actually stoked that he wanted to hang out, it just seemed oddly sudden. "You just usually call or text to make plans, that's all."

Nishinoya shrugged. Something seemed off about him, Asahi couldn't put his finger on it. 

"Nishinoya...are you alright?" 

"Yes. Do I look sick?" 

"NO, no! Definitely not!" He cleared his throat. "You're just a bit... quieter?"

"Oh." 

A few minutes later, Asahi finished cleaning up. He grabbed his coat from the backroom, a long, brown, button-down, and swung it over his shoulders. Taking the keys from his coat pocket, Asahi motioned for Noya to follow him. They walked out together, locking the door before leaving. 

"So," Asahi looked down at Nishinoya. "Where did you want to go?" 

Nishinoya paused. They stood outside of Coffee for Crows for a long while. 

"Umm, Nishinoya?" Asahi asked gently. When he heard no response, he said, "We could just go and hang out at my apartment. B-but only if you want to! And it's probably very messy and I don't really know what we would do there. You would probably think it's boring! Um, on second thought, maybe-" Asahi was waving his hands around restlessly as he spoke, a habit he had developed for when he got nervous. 

Nishinoya grasped Asahi's flailing hands, holding them still, seemingly oblivious to the growing blush on Asahi's neck and face. "That sounds nice." He said, smiling softly. He glanced down at their interlocked hands before quickly letting go, feeling his own ears turn red. 

They took the bus back to the apartment. Asahi mentally went through everything that might be wrong with it. Noya had never been to his apartment before, and Asahi _really_ wanted to make a good impression.

_I have a huge pile of clean clothes I was supposed to fold sitting on my desk. Is the bathroom clean? I can't remember when I last cleaned it. Oh, god, what if it smells terrible and I'm just nose-blind to my own filth? Just how much dirty laundry is laying around? When was the last time I washed my sheets?_

Asahi was actually a very organized and clean person. He liked his apartment to be well-kept. But he also liked being able to prepare for having a guest over, especially Nishinoya. He would've mentally chastised himself over inviting Noya if the guy didn't seem so thrilled about it.

Nishinoya was humming happily, his sunken mood from earlier nearly forgotten. He kicked his legs blissfully from where he sat on the bus, like a child on his way to the candy store. Asahi found it absolutely adorable. 

The bus reached the closest stop to Asahi's apartment and the pair got off. As they walked down the street, Nishinoya skipped around excitedly. 

"I can't wait to see what your apartment looks like." He grinned.

Asahi rubbed his neck nervously. "Just... don't have high expectations. You'll probably find it boring."

"I don't find anything about you boring, Asahi." He frowned.

Asahi's face warmed. He wasn't sure that Nishinoya knew how comforting that was to him. When they first became friends, he feared that eventually Noya's excitable personality would grow bored with him, and leave him behind. In the end, it was Asahi who had left _Nishinoya._ His guilt began to bubble inside of him; Asahi had still not really forgiven himself for what he had done.

"Ah, we're here." He said as they reached the building. 

There was no elevator, so they began their ascent up the stairs. After a few flights, Nishinoya whined, 

"Dude, how far up do we have to go?"

"It's on the top floor. Sorry."

Nishinoya huffed dramatically and suddenly dropped his bodyweight onto Asahi's back from behind him. 

Asahi grunted in surprise. It wasn't as though Nishinoya was heavy, but the incident was unexpected. 

"Carry me, Asahi-saaaaan." He groaned while giggling. 

Asahi blinked. Then, he stooped low and hauled Noya onto his back, holding onto him by his thighs. Nishinoya gasped.

"I wasn't being serious!"

"Should I put you down?"

Nishinoya gripped Asahi's shoulders with his small hands. "No way!" 

He was relatively light and Asahi didn't have trouble carrying him at first. But they still had two more flights of stairs to go up. He liked Nishinoya's weight on his back, his hands and chin resting on Asahi's shoulder, so he continued. He could smell Nishinoya's hair gel and the cheap body spray he'd been using since high school.

Finally, they reached Asahi's door. He let Nishinoya slide from his back and took out the keys from his pocket. He was hit with another wave of anxiety as he unlocked it and pushed the door open. 

Nishinoya quickly took off his shoes before stepping inside. He looked around, head-turning in every direction to take everything in as fast as he could. 

"Wow..." He marveled. 

_Is that a good "wow," or like a "wow this is so lame I never want to come back 'wow'?"_

Nishinoya inhaled strongly. "It smells like you!" He said eagerly, turning back to face Asahi. 

"Oh my gosh, what do I smell like?" Asahi responded, anxiously sniffing his clothes.

"No, no, no, it's a good smell!" He gave him a thumbs-up, then tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Like... OH, like fabric softener and cookies and if the sunlight had a smell it would probably smell like you!" Nishinoya turned his face away, quickly, his ears reddening.

Asahi blushed. "T-thank you..." He cleared his throat. "Uh, so..." He walked to his bedroom, Noya following, and gestured around the room, "This is my room." And he realized just how boring it all looked. He had brown pillows and a comforter, grey curtains and dresser, and a white desk. But Nishinoya's eyes widened. He flopped down onto the bed.

"I like your room! It's so organized and clean and nice. It suits you!" 

"Thank you."

His head poked up. "Do you have a TV?" 

Asahi nodded. 

Noya pumped his fist in the air. "Let's watch a movie!"

* * *

They ended up watching " _To all the Boys I've Loved Before,"_ a romance that Nishinoya liked. Oh, yeah, and apparently Nishinoya liked Romances. Like, a lot. Which should not have been as adorable as it was. When they finished that, they watched its sequel, which they both agreed was kind of bad. 

"Lara Jean _definitely_ should have ended up with John B." Nishinoya pouted, arms crossed as he leaned against Asahi, who nodded in agreement. 

"Definitely. He treated her better." 

Nishinoya glanced at his phone and sat up. He mumbled a curse. "It's almost 12, I've got to get home. Ryu's probably wondering where I am." 

Asahi bit his lip. "You could... stay the night if you wanted. But no pressure! If you don't want to or if you have plans in the morning or-"

"Really?!" Nishinoya's face lit up and Asahi nodded. He agreed, and while Noya called Tanaka to let him know, Asahi left to go see if he had any clothes that would even come close to fitting his guest. He was pretty sure he didn't. A few minutes later, he returned to his bedroom with a shirt that should only be a _little_ big, and PJ pants that he had owned as a child and for some reason still had. Asahi felt his mouth go slack as he stepped into the room. 

Nishinoya had taken off his shirt, but that wasn't what surprised him. What surprised him was the angel tattoo, painted beautifully across his back. 

"Nishinoya, I didn't know you had a tattoo..."

Noya turned suddenly, surprised. His ears and face turned red. "Oh... yeah... I got it right after graduation." He said self-consciously. "Really, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision and I should've thought it through." 

Asahi took a few steps towards him. "Turn around." He said softly. Nishinoya blushed but did as he was told. 

"I-I know that it's weird but, well, I got this nickname from Daichi. The Guardian Deity. I really liked it and, y'know, when you think of guardians you think of angels so..." He trailed off as Asahi crouched to admire the tattoo.

The angel was facing away, wings sprawled out. Asahi wanted to run his fingers down the tattoo, he wanted to trail his mouth down it with gentle kisses, but he didn't. "I like it." He said softly. Nishinoya turned to him, surprised.

"I didn't take you as a tattoo guy." He mumbled. 

"I'm not." 

They stayed that way for a moment, staring at each other. Asahi looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"I, um... I brought you some clothes to sleep in since you didn't bring any." He handed him the bundle in his arms. 

Nishinoya looked through them. "Are these kids' pants?!" He stuck his tongue out at Asahi. 

"I'm sorry! I don't have any other pants that would fit you!"

"It's okay, I'll just sleep in my boxers." He grinned, and Asahi hoped he wasn't as red as he felt. Nishinoya flopped back onto the bed, pulling on the new shirt. Asahi checked his phone and responded to a few texts and emails. 

A phone rang. "Oh, that's mine, hold on." Nishinoya sat up and pulled his phone from his jacket's pocket and answered it. Asahi went back to his own phone to give him a bit of privacy. 

"Hey dude, uh, slow down!" Nishinoya's eyes widened. "You have a date?!" Asahi glanced up, curious. "With... oh. No, no, no, man I'm happy for you! That's awesome! Yeah, all that work paid off! Shit, dude, congrats! When is it? Wow. No, don't even think about cancelling, I'm seriously happy for you!" Nishinoya was smiling, but it looked forced. "Alright, goodnight then." He hung up, his smile slowly sliding off of his face. He turned to Asahi. 

"Ryu got a date with Kiyoko." His voice broke as he said it. 

Asahi's eyes widened. "Oh...I'm-I'm really sorry." Nishinoya and Tanaka had had a crush on her since their first year of high school. It was no wonder Noya was upset.

Noya laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "S'alright." He mumbled. "I'm happy for him, really I am." 

Asahi laid down next to him. "It's okay to be upset." Nishinoya didn't answer at first, then after a moment, he said, 

"I'm not sure I ever _really_ liked her, y'know? Like, shit, I thought she was stunning. She is. And she was nice, but..." He paused. "Whenever Ryu looked at her or talked about her, I could tell he really did like her. I probably learned more about her from Ryu than Kiyoko herself. But with me, whenever I tried to picture what I liked about her I..." He turned his head to face Asahi, eyes wide and full of tears. "I don't know." He finished, voice cracking, as a tear rolled down his cheek. 

"Hey..." Asahi whispered softly. He sat up and Nishinoya crawled into his arms, his fingers curling tightly at his back. Asahi laid one arm around his back and the other in his hair. He rocked him back and forth in his arms, mumbling comforting words. Nishinoya's sobs were quiet, the only tell was the slight shake of his small shoulders. When he finally pulled away from Asahi's tear-stained shirt, his eyes were red and swollen, and his hair was pulled in every direction. 

Asahi still thought he was beautiful. 

"Do you want some ramen?" He asked, smiling. Nishinoya nodded. Asahi got up, heading to the kitchen, and Noya followed from behind. He took out two of the minute-made ramen cups from his pantry, filled them with water, and placed them in the microwave. While they waited, Asahi got a glass of water. 

"Nishinoya, here." He said, handing him the water. 

Noya took the water. He looked down. "Call me Yuu, please." He looked back up at Asahi and smiled. "S'only fair. I call you Asahi." 

"Alright... Yuu." He nodded. They took their noodles back to the living room. Noya sat on the couch and Asahi sat on the floor, leaning against his legs as they ate. Nishinoya ran his fingers through Asahi's long hair, humming happily. Asahi's mind wandered back to the angel tattoo.

"You know..." He began. He had never told anyone but Sugawara this; it was pretty embarrassing. But he hoped that it would maybe cheer his friend up a bit. "I almost named my coffeeshop The Guardian Deity." Nishinoya's fingers stopped in his hair. 

"No...way." He whispered. 

Asahi laughed nervously. "Yeah... it's dumb, but I knew it was your nickname and... I thought it would be cool, I guess." 

"Why didn't you?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Why didn't you name it that?"

"Oh... Suga talked me out of it."

"Oh." 

"Yeah... he said that since we hadn't talked for so long it just wouldn't have been right."

"Yeah, I guess he had a point." 

The air quieted around them. Asahi felt himself relax against the fingers running through his hair. Nishinoya was mumbling something about wishing he knew how to braid. The silence around them wasn't awkward. It was comfortable. They soon finished their ramen and threw away the cups. Asahi was able to find an unused toothbrush (like the ones you get at the dentist but no one ever uses) and gave it to Nishinoya.

The two got ready for bed. Asahi said his goodnight and headed into the living room to sleep on the couch. 

"Where are you going?" Nishinoya asked, frowning. 

"Oh, I figured I would sleep on the couch... to give you some space and-" 

"There's room," Nishinoya said blankly, gesturing to the bed.

"Um... are you sure?" 

"It's _your_ room."

"Yeah, but-" 

Nishinoya patted the space beside him. Asahi reluctantly crawled into the bed, his face and neck warm. Noya turned to face him. 

"Goodnight, Asahi."

"Goodnight, Yuu." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i know that "to all the boys I've loved before" is an American movie. yes I know they live in japan, idk fight me about it? it was the first romance that came to mind and its pretty much the only romance movie I like so ◉‿◉ 
> 
> also that whole thing about noya liking romances is a reference to the fact that the boy I like likes romance novels (✪‿✪)ノwhich is adorable so yeah.
> 
> OH and also (I actually found this out after I wrote it down) the name asahi means sunlight and that's what nishinoya says he smells like so I thought that was cool.
> 
> i had nishinoya's tattoo planned out since the beginning of this fic.
> 
> i also almost named asahi's coffee shop The Guardian Deity but I thought it was kinda weird so ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)
> 
> anyways gtg study for chemistry ┻━┻ ︵ ¯\\_(ᴼل͜ᴼ)_/¯ ︵ ┻━┻
> 
> also I love when you guys comment so if u have any thoughts please share them!!!


	5. Jealousy and Roller Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi interviews a new possible employee, Hitoka Yachi, whom Tsukishima obviously doesn't like.  
> And Nishinoya has been acting weird. Even weirder than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SO SO SORRY I PROMISE I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT THIS FIC BUT I'VE BEEN SO STRESSED AND I HAD EXAMS AND VOLLEYBALL PRACTICE AND AHHHHH. 
> 
> I'M SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
> 
> THIS CHAPTER IS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND I HATE IT BUT IT JUST HAD TO BE DONE SO
> 
> (also yes, I have decided to do song recs to really set the mood :))
> 
> ANYWAYS DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK LOLOLOL (@sidkozume) AND ENJOY

(Song Rec: New Flesh {1hr Loop} by Current Joys)

If Asahi had to describe Tadashi Yamaguchi in one word...

Well, he couldn't. 

Because Tadashi was one of the coolest people he knew. He just couldn't be summed up that way. Maybe it was their strange 1 AM interaction at a local park or maybe it was the fact that they were both madly in love with their high school best friend, but the two of them bonded almost immediately. 

After that first volleyball game, the pair had exchanged numbers, to Tsukishima's disgust. Oh, yeah, and Tsukishima _really_ didn't like Asahi for some reason. Of course, Asahi was usually convinced that _everyone_ secretly hated him. Sugawara explained to him that that was basically just Tsukishima's personality; he didn't really like anyone, except maybe Tadashi. 

But even so, Asahi just had a feeling that Tsukishima had something against him. He seemed to send more glares his way than he did with anyone else, but maybe it was just Asahi's paranoia talking. He had very talkative paranoia.

Tadashi and Asahi quickly became good friends. They texted frequently. It was actually kind of nice to have someone to talk to about his crush, and vice versa. Kiyoko knew, of course, but she had never been very talkative and Asahi never wanted to annoy her. 

One Friday morning, Tadashi was sitting at the counter of the cafe. He came nearly every morning and he always got Chamomile tea. He perked his head up as Asahi was cleaning a mug and said suddenly, 

"Hey, I need a favor."

Asahi raised an eyebrow. 

"I have a friend, Hitoka Yachi, and... she needs a job. Do you think you could interview her?"

"Oh, actually, yeah that would be great. We're pretty understaffed with just Kiyoko and me. Uh, but why here?"

"Eh...I don't know. She's a pretty nervous person and I figure you'd be a nice and easy boss for her. Plus, she's actually good friends with

Kiyoko."

"I'm also a nervous person. We'll get along great. Uh, when does she want to do the interview?" 

"Hmm, I don't know. I'll text her and ask." 

A few minutes passed before Tadashi's phone buzzed. 

"She says... 'how about tonight?'"

"Yeah, sure, have her meet me just around 7:00 after the cafe closes."

"Gotcha, I'll give you her contact info." Tadashi typed something on his phone. "She says she'll see you there." 

* * *

Asahi rubbed his hands together awkwardly in the backroom, waiting for Tadashi's friend, Yachi. A few minutes after 7, a very short, blonde woman knocked on the cafe door. 

"Hello...?" She called out quietly. 

Asahi stepped out of the backroom and went to let her in, smiling politely. The woman squeaked. 

"EH! OH! I'm so sorry!" She bowed as Asahi opened the door. "You're just... you scared me..." Her eyes widened and she waved her hands around nervously. "NOT THAT YOU'RE SCARY! I just... you are... very tall." She buried her red face into her hands. "I am so not good at this," Yachi mumbled. 

"It's okay." Asahi gestured for her to come inside. He took a seat at a two-seater table and nodded his head at the other chair. "If it makes you feel better...Tadashi asked me if I was homeless when we first met so, I don't judge too harshly with first impressions." He chuckled fondly at the memories. The two of them still hadn't told anyone how they had met, deciding it was fun enough to let everyone else guess. Tanaka was convinced that Yamaguchi was a stripper at a club Asahi went to (very believable). Hinata thought they were partnered, secret agents (also very believable). 

Yachi laughed into her hand as she sat down, seeming to relax at least a little. "It does make me feel better, actually." She smiled, looking up. "Thank you, by the way, for this interview. Kiyoko always talked very highly of this place and I thought it might be a nice change from my old job." 

"Ah, I see. So, where were you previously employed?" Asahi questioned politely. 

"I worked part-time at my mother's design company."

"Is there a reason you left? Or were you just needing a change in scenery?"

"I... needed a break from the family business, I guess. It _was_ nice, to be able to work for my mother, but..." She shrugged. "It could also get overwhelming. I'm an adult and... I think I just needed some space." 

Asahi nodded his head. The interview continued like this. Yachi was a nice girl. She reminded Asahi of himself; she was nervous, obviously, but also trying very hard to make a good impression. 

At the end of it all, an hour later, Asahi smiled and asked when she could start.

* * *

With Yachi now working at Coffee for Crows, Asahi was able to give both of his employees more break days. He had always felt bad about how little rest Kiyoko ever got. He also got a few break days, but he tried to take more shifts than the other two, so they could get the downtime they needed. 

Yachi seemed to take a lot of the morning shifts, though Asahi didn't pay much attention to it until one morning when Tsukishima came to the cafe for the very first time. Asahi raised his eyebrows in surprise at the blond's appearance. He figured that maybe Tadashi was meeting him there, but he then realized that Yamaguchi hadn't come this morning like he usual. It wasn't too worrying; there were some days when he slept too late or was just too busy to come. 

Tsukishima approached the counter and sat down on a stool. He was scowling, though this was normal behavior for him. 

"Tsukishima, hey." Asahi greeted him, smiling politely. He was met with a brief nod from him, who then immediately broke eye contact to look at the menu. 

"Can I have a glass of water?" 

Asahi raised his eyebrows. _Who comes to a cafe for water?_ But he nodded anyway and headed to the back room. When he emerged with the cup in hand, he noticed Tsukishima frowning at something across the room. Asahi followed his eyes to where Yachi was standing, talking politely with a customer. 

Setting his glass down in front of Tsukishima, Asahi smiled and asked, "Do you know Yachi-san?" 

Tsukishima snapped his attention back to the barista, nodding briefly once again. "She was Karasuno's manager after Kiyoko." 

Asahi's smile wavered. He sensed some kind of hostile nature in the way Tsukishima talked about her. Or maybe he was being paranoid again. 

"She's very sweet. Customers love her." 

Tsukishima's glare deepened. _Yeah, definitely hostile,_ Asahi thought. 

After a moment of silence, Tsukishima mumbled something, probably more to himself than to Asahi.

"She totally has a thing for Tadashi." 

Asahi raised his eyebrows. For two reasons, actually. One, why would Tsukishima care who had feelings for his friend? Unless... And two, Asahi had never heard Tsukishima call Yamaguchi "Tadashi." 

"Oh?" Asahi glanced back at Yachi. She _was_ looking around a bit expectantly like she was waiting for someone. Asahi decided to take a risk. He needed to know if he was right in his suspicions. "They would be cute together." 

Almost immediate regret overtook him as soon as Tsukishima turned his piercing glower to Asahi. He opened his mouth, like he was going to object, but closed it, apparently deciding against it. "I guess they would." 

Asahi decided it was best to leave it alone now. He _would_ probably be telling Yamaguchi about this entire interaction later, however. 

After a while, Tsukishima seemed to get bored with glaring at Yachi and turned his interest to Asahi. Asahi tried his best to ignore the interrogative stare, but Tsukishima seemed all too keen on making him uncomfortable. Finally, Asahi turned and met his eyes. 

"Um, why are you looking at me like that?" He mumbled.

Tsukishima frowned. "I'm trying to see why the fuck Nishinoya likes you so much." 

Asahi's face turned scarlet. "Wha...?" 

Tsukishima smirked at his discomfort, sparing a glance at his watch. "I need to go now."

"I, um-" 

Tsukishima rose from his chair. Then he left. Asahi was _definitely_ talking to Tadashi about this. 

Around the end of Yachi's shift, she asked Asahi about Yamaguchi. 

"He usually comes in the mornings. Do you know why he wasn't here?" 

She seemed to deflate a bit when Asahi shook his head but said her goodbyes politely before leaving. 

* * *

At closing time, Asahi felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. 

**Yuu: we r going roller skating**

Nope, nuh-uh. Asahi was terrible at any form of skating. There was no way he would embarrass himself like that in front of Nishinoya. 

**You: No.**

**Yuu: yes.**

**You: No way. I can't skate.**

**Yuu: I'll help you. I'll hold your hand ;)**

_Did... did Nishinoya just flirt with me?_ Maybe skating wasn't so bad. 

**You: You want to go right now, don't you?**

**Yuu: look up (,, ･∀･)ﾉ゛**

Startled, Asahi looked up from his phone. There, at the door, was Nishinoya, waving like a madman and mouthing "open the door" dramatically. He looked back down at his phone and began typing. 

**You: I'm not letting you in.**

**Yuu: WHA-ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET ME FREEZE TO DEATH OUT HERE?!**

**You: Yes.**

**Yuu: HUH? ∑(O_O；)**

**You: That's what you get for not telling me you were coming.**

Nishinoya knocked loudly on the glass door, forcing Asahi to look up. "HEY! LET ME IN! PLEASEEEEEEE!" His muffled voice pleaded from the other side. 

Asahi sighed but couldn't hold back his laughter. He unlocked the door, and he was greeted by the tiny man tackling him to the ground. Asahi let out an "oof" as his back thudded against the floor, knocking the air out of him. Nishinoya straddled him, grinning wickedly. Oh, shit, _Nishinoya was straddling him._ He felt a blush creep up his neck and face.

"AND THIS," Nishinoya laughed, "IS WHAT YOU GET FOR TRYING TO LEAVE ME OUTSIDE." His smile fell as he seemed to realize the suggestive position that they were in. Quickly, he climbed off, offering his hand to Asahi as his own ears turned red.

Asahi took his hand and Nishinoya pulled him off the ground. The pair stood that way for a moment, hands clasped together. Asahi stared down at Nishinoya. 

_I want to kiss you,_ he thought. But he knew he never would. 

Nishinoya cleared his throat. "So... roller skating?" 

Asahi immediately withdrew his hand from Noya's. "No." He answered firmly. 

Nishinoya grabbed Asahi's arm, pulling down with all of his body weight. "Whyyyyyyyyyy?" He whined.

"Because I already told you, I can't skate." 

"It'll be fun!" 

Asahi glanced at Nishinoya's face. His lower lip jutted out, and he fluttered his eyelashes. "Fine..." Asahi gave in as he turned away to hide his flushed cheeks. Nishinoya did an adorable celebratory dance. He tugged on Asahi's arm, pulling him towards the door. 

"C'mon! We can take the bus!" 

Asahi sighed. Nishinoya could ask him to travel to Africa with him and he would still go. 

As they sat on the bus, Asahi turned to study Nishinoya. He was certainly _acting_ normal. But something seemed off. It almost felt like... like he was trying too hard to act like himself. Asahi was probably just overthinking it. 

"So... why rollerblading?" Asahi asked. 

Nishinoya looked up at him, then quickly shrugged. "Dunno. Sounded fun."

Asahi frowned. It wasn't like Nishinoya usually had a reason for doing things. But this all felt out of place. A few moments passed before Nishinoya spoke again.

"Ryu took Kiyoko rollerblading for their first date." 

Asahi opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. _Are we on a date?_ He wondered, flushing. "Oh." He said it so quietly he wasn't even sure that Nishinoya heard him. And then, Nishinoya's face began to turn pink as well, like he _just_ realized what he was implying. 

"Wait, um, I just meant that... Kiyoko and Ryu are hanging out a lot more, so... so I just thought that we could do something. I've been kind of... lonely." Noya admitted, looking down. 

_Ah, so I'm Tanaka's replacement,_ Asahi thought before he could stop himself. He mentally smacked his brain. This was not the time to be making things about himself. Nishinoya was obviously upset and he couldn't even talk to Tanaka about it; he was way too kind to do anything that might ruin his best friend's happiness. Besides, if being the replacement meant that he could hang out with Nishinoya more, he wasn't really sure that he minded.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to," Nishinoya offered, staring at his feet. "Rollerblading, I mean. If you want to do something else or... if you would rather just go home, I wouldn't be offended." _Yes, you would,_ Asahi thought, but he said nothing. Noya looked back up at Asahi.

Asahi rested a hand on Nishinoya's shoulder. "I want to do whatever you want to do." He didn't miss the way Noya's ears tinted pink, and he tried not to let himself feel so hopeful over it. 

Nishinoya beamed. "Well then... I've changed my mind! Cause we _aren't_ Ryu and Kiyoko! We are Yuu and Asahi!" He turned, grinning at Asahi. "And we're gonna get drunk!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Nishinoya could ask him to travel to Africa with him and he would still go." Tell me I'm not a genius for that foreshadowing (⌐▨_▨) 
> 
> anyway, sorry for taking so long with this chapter. Along with school, I've also been having really bad writing block. see you guys soon!


	6. Drunk Actions, Sober Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She took a step closer, grinning, and leaned in. 
> 
> "I'm gay." Asahi blurted. She stopped, pulling back, eyes wide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS (eve, lol)/ HAPPY HOLIDAYS
> 
> if i was not an idiot I could have planned ahead and made a cute little Christmas chapter but I am dumb and didn't think about it till now and it won't make sense if I just randomly add it in sorry (;¬_¬) 
> 
> i am aware that the links I put for the song doesn't open on a separate tab but I don't know how to change that sorry :(( you will probably just have to search the song up on youtube which is annoying
> 
> warning: this is the angst you signed up for so good luck ∠(･`_´･ )

[(Song Rec: Chamber of Reflection {loop} by Mac DeMarco)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRVaza72WuE)

"C'mon, Asahiiiiii," Nishinoya slurred lazily, holding up the beer in his hand. When he said he wanted to get drunk, he'd meant it.

Asahi rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "Yuu, I told you I don't drink." 

"Mmm." Nishinoya hummed, leaning on Asahi, even though there was plenty of room in their booth table. "Say it again." He mumbled against Asahi's shoulder. 

Asahi fought to keep down the growing blush on his face. "Uh, say what?" 

"My name." Nishinoya purred, grinning up at Asahi. "I like it when you say my name." 

Asahi buried his head in his hands. "You can't do this to me," He mumbled. Nishinoya only sidled closer, humming happily. 

"Excuse me," A woman's voice interrupted the intimate moment. Asahi looked up. A pretty, brown-haired woman stood next to their table. She smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I've never seen you around here." She gestured to the bar. "You new?" Asahi nodded dumbly. Apparently, she took this as an invitation to sit down on the other side of the table. 

She took a glance at Nishinoya's lazy figure, who grinned back at her. The woman pursed her lips. "I'm Yukie." She held her hand out and Asahi shook it politely. 

"Asahi." He mumbled. 

She looked back at Noya and smirked. "Babysitting?" Nishinoya's flirtatious smile immediately changed to a scowl.

"Oh, no, we were just-" Asahi began, but the woman, Yukie, cut him off. 

"What, you don't drink?" She raised her eyebrows. 

Asahi nodded. 

"That's alright," She purred. She nudged his leg playfully with her foot underneath the table. "You don't need to be drunk to have a bit of fun. Am I right?" 

Asahi gulped. Nishinoya looked between the two, his frown going deeper. "Hey, go away lady. We are having a boys' night!" Nishinoya declared, pushing himself further into Asahi's shoulder. 

Yukie frowned, looking at Asahi, apparently to apologize for Noya's actions. Asahi just laughed awkwardly and shrugged. If he was being honest, he also wanted the lady to go away, but he couldn't just say that. 

"Listen," She leaned in, lowering her volume to a whisper. Asahi felt Nishinoya lean in closer to hear her. "Why don't we drop your friend off and go have some fun..." She reached across the table and took Asahi's big hand in her own. Asahi wanted nothing more than to pull away, but he didn't want to be rude. 

Nishinoya scowled, looking furiously between the two of them. When Asahi didn't answer, Nishinoya stood abruptly. "Fine. Just pretend I'm not even here." He turned towards Asahi. "Have fun with Yuka or whatever her name is. I'll just catch a cab or the bus or something." He crawled over Asahi's lap to get out of the booth. 

"Yuu-" Asahi began. 

"Don't call me Yuu! I don't like it anymore." He grumbled as he finally detangled himself from Asahi. He brushed off his clothes. "You can't even tell some random woman to leave us alone. You're just a coward." He spat, turning towards the door. 

Asahi recoiled. He stared for a moment as Nishinoya approached the exit, then shook his head. No matter what Nishinoya said, he wasn't going to let him go home drunk and angry. He stood to leave. 

"Oh, forget him. He can catch a cab." Yukie laughed, standing as well. 

"Wha-no! No way. I can't just let him go home alone." Asahi defended. He turned to go but she grabbed his wrist. 

"What? Are you two boyfriends?" She mocked playfully. 

Asahi shook his head. "That's not it, but-" 

She pulled his hand onto her chest and grinned wickedly. "Then what's the problem, hmm?" Asahi heard the bar door close; he had to catch Nishinoya before he went too far.

Asahi felt his face grow red. Not because he was flustered but because he was just embarrassed for this woman, who was hitting on probably the gayest man in all of Japan. He pulled his hand away from her. 

"I'm sure you are very nice, and, uh-" He began, attempting to let her down easily. He wasn't hit on often, so it wasn't like he had much practice. 

She took a step closer, grinning, and leaned in. 

"I'm gay." Asahi blurted. She stopped, pulling back, eyes wide. She wasn't as surprised as Asahi was, however. He had never actually come out to anyone. Unless Tadashi or Kiyoko counted, but in both of those cases he hadn't actually said the words "I'm gay." 

Asahi wanted to crawl into the nearest corner and bury his head in his knees and die of embarrassment. But now definitely was not the time to be a coward. 

"I-I'm gay and," He took a deep breath, "and, like, totally in love with the guy who just walked out of this bar and I need to go find him so he doesn't get hit by a car or mistaken as an underage drunk child so if you'll just, uh, I need to make sure he's okay, so..." 

Yukie took a step back. It was her turn to nod dumbly. Asahi almost couldn't believe that worked and he continued to stand there like an idiot before she frowned and gestured to the door aggressively. "GO!" 

"Oh!" Asahi quickly took some cash out of his pocket. He left it on their abandoned table and sprinted out the door.

He turned his head in every direction, calling Nishinoya's name. He was nowhere to be found. 

Asahi quickly dialed his number, calling him several times, and leaving voicemail after voicemail, but there was no answer. Finally, he called a new number. 

"Hello?" A gentle voice answered the phone. 

"SUGA!" Asahi shouted. "I need you to send me Nishinoya's address!" 

"Oh, uh, okay." A few seconds passed. "Done." 

Asahi felt his phone buzzed and lifted it from his ear to see a text from Sugawara. 

"Um, mind telling me what's going on, Asahi?" 

Asahi waved over a cab. "Okay, I sort of... lost Nishinoya." It was starting to rain now.

"You... huh?" 

"He got drunk and... there was this girl so, then he just kind of, I don't know where he is!" Asahi tried to explain as he crawled into the cab. He quickly gave the driver the address. 

"Oh my god." Sugawara groaned. 

"I know, I know. Hopefully, he just went back to his apartment, but if not..." Asahi felt the panic in his stomach rise to his throat. 

"Okay, okay, calm down. It's not your fault. Nishinoya can be a little... skittish when he's drunk. His emotions are all over the place." 

"WAIT! I could just call Tanaka and ask if Nishinoya is at their apartment!" Asahi mentally slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner. 

"Good idea. Call me back when you can." Sugawara said. 

"Okay." Asahi hung up, then quickly dialed Tanaka's number. It rang twice before he picked up. 

"Hello?" 

"Is Yuu at the apartment with you right now?" 

"I don't know, I'm not at home right now," He answered. Asahi heard Kiyoko's voice ask, "Who is that?" distantly. "Is everything alright?" Tanaka asked worriedly.

"No, yeah. It's fine, just... let me know if you hear from him." 

"Uh, okay, I guess." 

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Asahi continued to try and call Nishinoya with no success.

Finally, the cab reached Nishinoya's apartment. The rain was pouring even harder.

Sugawara had texted him the apartment number. Asahi quickly climbed the stairs, making his way to Noya's door. He knocked. No answer. He knocked again. No answer. Asahi turned the door handle and was surprised to find that it was unlocked. Then he remembered that Tanaka and Nishinoya were the ones living here so it wasn't actually that surprising. 

"Hello?" Asahi asked as he hesitantly entered the apartment. No one answered. He quickly searched all of the rooms, but he found nothing. Asahi groaned. He had no idea where he could be. Once again, he called Sugawara. 

"Did you find him?"

"No. Tanaka isn't home and I just searched his apartment. He's not here." 

"It was unlocked?" 

"Yeah. Do you have any idea where else he might go?" 

"Well... one time when he was drunk he _did_ show up at Kiyoko's place. But I don't think he would do that now since Tanaka and her are dating, even if he was drunk..." Sugawara trailed off. 

"Maybe I should check, just in case." 

"Actually..." Suga began. "Maybe... okay try looking at your place." 

"Wha-why?" 

"I don't know... just try it." 

Asahi wanted to object. He didn't want to waste time. But Sugawara knew Nishinoya better and he had seen him drunk before. And Asahi _had_ told Nishinoya about his spare key under the welcome mat, so it wasn't impossible.

"Okay. I'll let you know if he's there." Asahi said. 

"Alright." 

They hung up. Asahi quickly left the apartment, closing the door behind him. He made his way back out into the rain, finding another cab to take him home. 

He sat nervously in the car, drenched, and texting Nishinoya constantly. 

**You: Where are you?**

**You: I'm sorry. Don't be mad.**

**You: Are you mad?**

**You: Yuu, please answer, I am worried.**

**You: You left your apartment unlocked.**

**You: You can hate me forever, but please tell me where you are.**

After he had sent 47 unread messages, Asahi returned to calling him. 

When he reached his own apartment, Asahi quickly paid and thanked the driver, and scurried towards his room. The stairs had never felt longer. He reached his door and found it was unlocked.

"Nishinoya?!" He called out. He heard rustling from the living room and desperately ran towards it, not even bothering to take off his shoes. 

On the couch, bundled in blankets and eating minute-made ramen, was Nishinoya. His eyes were puffy and red. 

"Nishinoya." Asahi breathed, relieved. He ran towards him, kneeled by the couch, and scooped him up into a hug. 

"Mmph!" His muffled voice protested and he slid out of his grasp. "You're all wet!" He grumbled. His words were still slurred together.

"I'm so glad you're okay! You didn't answer my calls or texts, I-I didn't know where or-or..." Asahi felt his voice break. "When you weren't at your apartment I-I was so worried, Nishinoya. What are you doing here?"

Nishinoya stared at him. "You called me Nishinoya." He whispered dejectedly. 

"You told me not to call you Yuu." 

"I didn't mean it." 

"I'm sorry, Yuu." 

Nishinoya smiled, but quickly caught himself and frowned. "I'm still mad at you."

"I know, I'm sorry." 

"You should have told the lady to go away." He huffed. 

"I'm sorry." 

"And I did go to my apartment, actually." He sniffed. "But then... then I thought you might bring that ugly lady back here and I didn't want you to so I came here to stop you from fucking her. Also, my phone died. That's why I didn't answer."

"Oh. Wow. Well, I wasn't planning on... _fucking_... her, so you don't have to worry about that." Asahi laughed. "And you can borrow my charger." He rose to go get it but Nishinoya pulled him back down and sniffed. 

"Take off your clothes." He commanded. 

Asahi's heart skipped a beat as his face flushed red. "Wh-EH?"

Nishinoya's own face turned pink and he turned away, avoiding eye contact but still grinning. "You smell like wet dog." 

Asahi laughed. "Okay, I'll go change." He rose again but Nishinoya only pulled him down once more. 

"Let me help." He insisted gently. 

Asahi couldn't think of an answer. Instead, he nodded dumbly and crouched back down. Nishinoya grasped Asahi's soaked shirt and carefully pulled it up. He stared at Asahi's bare chest. Asahi felt himself burn in embarrassment and insecurity. He was pale and had certainly gained weight since high school. He opened his mouth to say something but Noya beat him to it. 

"I want to kiss you." He mumbled, looking up at Asahi. 

"What?" Asahi was positive he hadn't heard correctly. 

"I want to kiss you," Nishinoya repeated. 

"Oh." Was the genius answer that Asahi came up with. Then, "Is this because you're drunk?" 

"Drunk thoughts are sober actions, or, whatever." 

Asahi chuckled. "Do y'mean that drunk actions are sober thoughts?" Then he felt a blush creep across his face as Nishinoya's words sunk in. 

Nishinoya nodded. He paused, then giggled, "Tanaka and I used to make out when we got drunk." 

Asahi's heart sank. _He's made out with Tanaka before? Were they a "thing?" I really am just Tanaka's replacement, aren't I?_

Nishinoya took Asahi's face in his small hands. Asahi could smell the alcohol on his breath. It brought him back to reality.

And here was the reality: Nishinoya was drunk. He was a flirt and so of course he would want to make out with the closest person to him. And Asahi was not going to take advantage of a drunk and flirting Nishinoya. He wasn't that shallow, no matter how much he wished he was. 

Gently, Asahi pulled Noya's hands away from his face. He smiled, softly. "You're drunk." 

Nishinoya scowled. "And you're a coward." He said, turning his face away. Asahi dropped his hands. He rose, but this time, Nishinoya didn't pull him back down. He left the living room, finding his charger so that Noya's phone could be charged. He changed his clothes and dried his hair and when he returned to the living room, Nishinoya was fast asleep on the couch. 

Asahi called Sugawara, informing him that Nishinoya _was_ at his place. "I'm going to call and ask Tanaka to pick him up and take him home." He told him. 

"Can't he just stay with you?" 

"He's angry with me right now." 

"What happened?" 

Asahi paused. He considered telling Suga but decided against it. "I don't know."

Sugawara didn't pry any further. 

Asahi called Tanaka, filling him in on what happened and asking if he could pick up Noya. Tanaka agreed. He had just dropped off Kiyoko after a date and his place wasn't too far. 

When Tanaka arrived, he looked around worriedly. Asahi led him to the living room and let Tanaka wake up the sleeping man. He stood, watching from the doorway. Nishinoya was purposely avoiding eye-contact. 

Asahi handed him his charged phone as Nishinoya leaned against Tanaka. Tanaka thanked him and Noya left wordlessly. 

Asahi waited a few minutes before sliding down against the door and burying his head in his hands. The tears fell silently, and once they started, he couldn't will them to stop. The same word repeated over and over again in his brain: _coward, coward, coward._

_He was drunk. He didn't mean it,_ part of him thought. But Nishinoya had said it himself; drunk actions are sober thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i hope i made you sad right before christmas lol anyway have a nice holiday
> 
> also no hate against Yukie i just needed a female character to use and I didn't have the energy to make up a new one so she is totally fanon in this fic.


	7. Coward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you remember anything about what you said on the way home?"
> 
> "What? No, not really. Why?" Nishinoya asked curiously.
> 
> Tanaka turned away, scratching his neck. "Uhhhh..."
> 
> "Ryu, what did I say?" Nishinoya asked, concern building up in him.
> 
> "Listen, Yuu-"
> 
> Noya grabbed Tanaka's shirt, forcing their eyes to meet. "What did I say?" He asked again, more urgently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long on this chapter. i had driving school all this week and it sucked. Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (*/ω＼*)

[(Song Rec: Fool {1 hr loop} by Cavetown)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izz8TC3zNYI)

Nishinoya stumbled, leaning heavily against Tanaka. He grumbled as he lost his footing and his friend was forced to heave him back up. They continued the seemingly endless journey away from Asahi's apartment and to Tanaka's car.

Tanaka groaned. "Can't you at least try to walk normally? You may be small but that doesn't mean you're light." 

"Asahi could carry me just fine," Nishinoya mumbled, scowling at his feet. 

Tanaka raised an eyebrow. "Then maybe you should have been nicer to him; he might've let you stay." 

Nishinoya stopped and turned back to stare at the apartment building. 

"Alright, c'mon," his best friend continued dragging him along. 

Nishinoya grabbed Tanaka's face and pulled it close to his. "Ryu, I gotta tell you somethin'," He slurred.

Tanaka shoved his face away, eager to get Noya's alcohol-smelling breath away from his face. "No kissing," He informed him. Nishinoya loved make-out sessions when he was drunk, and Tanaka loved the attention it got him, so whenever the two of them went drinking, they usually ended up with their faces smashed together. 

"I wasn't going to," Nishinoya waved him off. "You gotta girlfriend." 

Tanaka looked over. Even drunk, his best friend still managed to respect his relationship with the girl he had _also_ had a crush on in high school. He felt guilt bubble in his stomach as he quickly looked away from Nishinoya. "Alright then, what do you need to tell me?"

Nishinoya hiccuped, which was so stereotypical that was nearly funny. Tanaka helped him into the passenger seat, telling him to buckle, before climbing in on the other side. They began their drive and, not hearing a response, Tanaka assumed Nishinoya had fallen asleep. He glanced to the side quickly, but he saw Noya staring intently out the window, very much awake. 

"I like boobs. And also dick."

Tanaka did a double-take, then remembered he was driving and pulled his eyes back to the road. "You-you're...oh," he trailed off. "I... support you, of course, I'm sure that you know that."

Nishinoya hesitated, his eyes never straying from the window, before lethargically nodding. 

Tanaka continued slowly. "How long... have you known?" 

Noya shrugged carelessly. "Dunno."

"Ah... okay..." If he was being honest, Tanaka had suspected it. Nishinoya always seemed a little _too_ into those drunk makeout sessions. It wasn't like he minded; he himself had questioned a bit back in high school. But he did have to wonder if Noya would even remember this confession tomorrow. "Asahi, huh?" Tanaka chuckled. 

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

Asahi laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. And pills made him anxious, so he wouldn't be taking melatonin anytime soon. He felt like garbage, like a piece of plastic washed up on a beach, suffocating turtles. Nishinoya was a turtle. Asahi was suffocating him. 

The messed up thoughts that had been quieted the past few months were being replanted in his brain. Slowly, they were growing back, stronger than ever. _Unwanted. Unloved. Coward._ That last word echoed in his head. Asahi curled his knees toward his stomach. He felt sick. He had no tears left to cry, so he lay there pathetically. 

He wanted Nishinoya to be there. Then he thought about how selfish that was, how Noya clearly didn't want to be around him right now. He needed to give him space. It was his fault, what happened tonight. Nishinoya could have been seriously hurt, wandering around like that, drunk. Asahi was too irresponsible to tell a woman he was uninterested. He was too much of a baby to hurt some lady's feelings and he ended up hurting the only ones that even mattered. 

Asahi fell asleep to the feeling of unfiltered self-hatred.

* * *

Asahi didn't go to work the next day, unable to even get out of bed in the morning. He texted Kiyoko a brief message, making up some half-assed lie. 

**You: Hey, can't make it work today. I'm sick. Can you cover my shift? I'll pay you double.**

It wasn't too long before she responded. 

**Shimizu Kiyoko: Sure. Are you alright? I can ask someone to come and check up on you.**

The last thing Asahi wanted was to be more of a burden.

 _Also,_ he thought _, I can't risk her sending Nishinoya over, and if I asked her not to, then she would want to know why and then she might tell Tanaka who might tell Noya who would probably be upset and think I was talking about him behind his back. Or he would feel bad for me and come over and be stuck with me._

**You: No, thanks. Thanks for your help. See you tomorrow.**

Asahi sighed and set his phone down, rolling onto his side and drifting back to sleep.

He woke up to an aggressive knocking sound, the keys rattling, then the door opening.

Someone was in his apartment.

Asahi sat up, quickly glancing at his clock and realizing it was 1:07 PM. He felt even more worthless and lazy. He pushed himself off his bed, deciding that if a murderer had just broken into his apartment, well, that was fine and Asahi would just die.

He walked into the hallway. There, standing in front of the front door, holding a bag and smiling from ear to ear, was Sugawara. 

"Koushi?" He grumbled, rubbing his eyes, but walked right past him. Asahi followed him. "What are you doing here?"

"Kiyoko told me you weren't doing well. I decided to stop by." He said casually as he entered the kitchen, setting his bag down.

"You just broke into my apartment."

"You keep a key under your welcome mat."

"Touche." Asahi watched in silence as Suga began cooking something. Remembering he was supposed to be sick, he made a weak attempt at a cough into his arm.

"So," Suga began.

"I'm sick." Asahi answered, predicting the question.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, glancing away from whatever he was making to give Asahi an unbelieving expression. He knew. 

"Yup." He shut his eyes, still exhausted and wanting to crawl back into bed. "And as much as I love your company, I wouldn't want to get _you_ sick so-"

"Oh no, no, no, no." Suga grinned. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily. I'm here to _take care_ of my best friend."

Asahi groaned, running a hand through his tangled bedhead.

"And," He added, "if you don't like it, I'll just send Daichi over instead."

Asahi snapped his mouth shut.

Suga eventually finished, revealing to Asahi that he made ramen. He walked back to the bag he brought and took out a package of store-bought sushi. "Dig in." He smiled, as they sat down at the table.

Asahi didn't _feel_ like eating. He didn't feel like doing anything if he was being honest. But he knew there was no getting around it with Suga here. And as soon as he took the first bite of ramen, he immediately felt the hunger wash over him. Suga laid his head in his hand, smiling as he watched him eat. His own food sat untouched as he looked at Asahi and-oh _god_ that was his scheming face.

"What?" Asahi asked nervously, a mouthful of sushi stuffed into his mouth.

"Mm, nothing," Suga replied, but his grin didn't waver. 

Asahi set down his bowl of ramen, frowning at Sugawara. "Spit it out." 

"What happened with Nishinoya?" His smile still didn't fade, which made it even creepier. Asahi was sure he felt a chill run down his spine. 

"What d'you mean?" He played dumb. Suga knew better, he knew Asahi too well, but maybe he would get sick of this and just leave him alone. "He got drunk, I lost track of him, then I found him." He turned back to his ramen.

"So that's why you're avoiding him?"

Asahi perked his head up. "Huh? I'm not avoiding him."

"Have you even checked your phone?"

Asahi avoided his gaze guiltily. He had _not_ checked his phone since he had texted Kiyoko, which was early that morning, probably too early for Noya to be awake. Somehow, he knew if he _did_ check, there would be dozens of texts from Nishinoya. Probably asking to hang out ( _out of pity_ , his brain reminded him), or asking why he wasn't at Coffee for Crows that morning ( _he's just a good guy)._

Suga sighed. "You're doing it again." 

"What? Doing what again?" Asahi asked, genuinely confused; he wasn't playing dumb anymore.

"That thing where," Sugawara waved his hands and around and frowned, apparently looking for the right words to say. "Where you lock yourself in, away from everyone and overthink. And you're all like, 'Oh, everyone hates me, I'm so annoying, blah, blah, blah,'" Suga did a terrible impression of Asahi. "You did it when you left the team and," Asahi's eyes widened but Suga continued, "and you're doing it now. All because you think you're some kind of burden-"

"I am." He answered quietly.

"What?" Sugawara frowned.

"THAT'S BECAUSE I AM A FUCKING BURDEN, KOUSHI!" Asahi stood up, slamming his hands on the table in frustration as his chair fell back. He was surprised at the harshness of his own voice, but now that he started, he couldn't stop it from all just flowing out. "I AM A BURDEN! STOP PITYING ME! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, LET ME BE ALONE!"

Suga was clearly unbothered, he hadn't even flinched during Asahi's outburst. His only reaction was the new serious expression that replaced his creepy smile. He stood as well, though much more calmly. "I don't pity you. You're acting like a baby, and I don't pity you. Do you think I would have stuck around, all this time if our friendship was just based on pity?" His voice began to rise in anger at the accusation. "Do you think I would have supported you for so long, stayed with you the whole way if you were just a _fucking_ burden?! Huh?!"

Asahi ran his hands through his hair. "Shut up, shut up," He mumbled. Everything Sugawara was saying made sense, it _made_ sense, so why couldn't he believe him.

"No. Stop doing this to yourself."

"Koushi-"

"No, I'm serious. _You_ do this to yourself. No one thinks of you as a burden. No one is pitying you." Suga's expression softened. "Especially not Nishinoya."

"He-" Asahi felt the heat rise to his cheeks as his voice broke. "He ca-called me a coward." He managed to say, through choked sobs. For a moment, Suga didn't say anything. When Asahi looked up, he saw an expression of rage on Suga's face. Sure that he was about to be yelled at, Asahi took a step back. 

"That little bastard." Suga wasn't talking to him. "I'm gonna kill him," He mumbled to himself.

With a start, Asahi realized he was talking about Nishinoya. "Wh-what?! No, no, don't do that! It was my fault, I-"

"Would you stop blaming yourself for everything?!" Sugawara turned to him, angry, though it wasn't directed at him. 

"No, Koushi, listen, this _was_ my fault. There was this girl and-"

"Asahi," Suga held up a hand. "Whatever you did, you did not force those words out of his mouth."

"But he was drunk-"

"It doesn't matter. Drunk actions are sober thoughts." 

Asahi's shoulders sank. "So he really thinks I'm a coward," He sighed in a small, defeated voice.

Suga blinked. "What? No, no, that's not what I meant. I just meant that... I just meant that Nishinoya is responsible for his actions, okay?" He put a hand on Asahi's shoulder, smiling kindly. "Nishinoya thinks the world of you Asahi."

Asahi nodded. He knew that Sugawara was being sincere, he knew that Suga believed that. But how could he know for sure? 

"But," Sugawara's angry expression returned, more subdued now. "That doesn't excuse what he said. I'll talk to him."

"It's fine, really-" Asahi began but Sugawara held up a finger.

"Asahi, don't you dare blame this on yourself." He glared and Asahi shut his mouth. "You're... you're allowed to feel angry, y'know?" His soft demeanor returned once more.

Asahi frowned. "I've felt angry befo-"

"No. You've felt angry at _yourself,_ because you always end up blaming yourself before you can get angry at anyone else. But... it's okay to be upset when someone's wronged you," Suga said. It was true, Asahi rarely got angry at someone else. The closest thing to anger that he usually felt towards anyone was annoyance; like how he had been annoyed when Suga wouldn't leave. Even when he had snapped just now, it was because he was mad at himself, at the situation he created. "Now," Suga pushed his chair in and smiled. "Want to watch a movie?" 

Asahi nodded. He wasn't feeling annoyed with Suga anymore. In fact, he was very glad that he came.

Sugawara plopped down on Asahi's couch. "Any ideas on what to watch?"

Asahi smiled. "Actually, yes."

* * *

"Hey dude, your phone is ringing!" Tanaka called from the living room.

"Shit," Nishinoya breathed, racing from the kitchen and eagerly snatching his phone off of the couch. He had been trying to get ahold of Asahi all day. He wondered if this was pay back for the night before, where Asahi had called him, like, a bajillion times to trying to find his drunk ass. 

He answered the phone so fast he didn't even see the contact name. "Hello?!" He said, excited. 

"Nishinoya." 

Noya held the phone away from his ear, looking at the contact. Not Asahi. It was-

"This is Sugawara." 

"I... can see that. I have your number saved." Nishinoya responded, the disappointment evident in his tone.

"Well, I figured you would be waiting for someone else," Sugawara shot back. How did he know _everything_?

"Wh-that's... no!" He scoffed. "Well... okay, whatever, have you heard from him?" He tapped his hand on his thigh anxiously.

Tanaka looked over at him curiously, mouthing, _Who is it?_

_Koushi,_ he mouthed back. Tanaka seemed just as confused as he did at the random call.

"Yes, actually," Sugawara answered. "I'm with him now."

"Really?!" Nishinoya felt relief pool out of him. Asahi was okay, and he wasn't ignoring him, he was just hanging out with Sugawara.

"Yes." Suga's voice sounded strangle stern, and Nishinoya stiffened. He felt like he was in trouble. "Nishinoya, what do you remember from last night?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Nishinoya noticed Tanaka lean in slightly. "Uhhh... not that much, to be honest. I remember having a good time with Asahi and then this shitface lady interrupted and... oh! Tanaka told me I ran off, so... yeah that's kind of it." Nishinoya was also pretty sure he remembered... something else... but he wasn't sure if that had _actually_ happened, so he decided on keeping it to himself. 

"Right... do you remember anything you said to Asahi?" He sounded like his mom, doing that thing where she was like " _do you know what you did wrong, Yuu?_ " When, obviously, Nishinoya had no idea.

"No?"

Suga sighed. Then Nishinoya heard Asahi's voice. It was distanced and kind of muffled; he was obviously talking to Sugawara from somewhere in the room. "Is the popcorn ready?" Asahi's voice asked. Nishinoya felt his heart skip a beat.

"Uh-huh. Just a minute." Suga answered, away from the phone. Directed at Noya, he said, "I have to go now. We are about to watch a movie, ' _To All the Boys I've Loved Before_ ,' or something," Nishinoya tried to say something about how much he loved that movie, but Suga didn't seem to hear him and continued, "but I'll be over later to talk to you. It's important." He hung up.

"What was that about?" Tanaka asked absentmindedly, looking down at his phone. 

"Uhh, I'm not really sure? He just asked if I, like, remembered anything from last night, I don't know..." He answered, plopping down on the couch beside Tanaka.

Tanaka looked at him strangely, almost worried, as he asked, "What... do you remember?"

"Um, I-"

"Do you remember anything about what you said on the way home?"

"What? No, not really. Why?" Nishinoya asked curiously.

Tanaka turned away, scratching his neck. "Uhhhh..."

"Ryu, what did I say?" Nishinoya asked, concern building up in him.

"Listen, Yuu-"

Noya grabbed Tanaka's shirt, forcing their eyes to meet. "What did I say?" He asked again, more urgently.

"I don't-okay, before I tell you, I just want you to know that I support you and-" Tanaka was saying way too fast.

"Oh my god." Nishinoya dropped Tanaka's shirt and his hand flew to his mouth, eyes wide in horror. "I-oh, I fucking came out to you, didn't I?"

Tanaka shut his mouth, nodding. Nishinoya groaned. "Dude, it's alright, I support you."

Noya nodded and smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"But I am going to relentlessly make fun of you about your crush on Asahi." He smirked.

"MOTHERFU-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant think of anything to say lol
> 
> I chose cavetown as the song rec b/c he lowkey sounds like noya to me
> 
> also I love cavetown


	8. Big, Fat Crushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, what do you want me to say?! That I have a big, fat crush on Asahi?!" Nishinoya said, throwing his hands up.
> 
> Suga raised his eyebrows. "Actually, ye-"
> 
> "Well, I do! I do have a big, fat crush on him! So there!" He was standing again, walking towards the door as he grabbed his coat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go apologize to him before it's too late!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a kind of short chapter but oh well I wanted to put another one out there for you guys since they've been coming kind of slow :)

[(Song Rec: Can I Call You Tonight {1 hr loop} by Dayglow)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iku2nDiGLeU&t=22s)

Sugawara knocked on the door. He heard mumbling before the door was opened and he was met with a suspiciously large smile.

"Koushi!" Nishinoya said, "Uh, come in? I'm still not sure why you wanted to come over but... we're happy to have you!" He gestured inside.

"Thanks..." Sugawara took a step inside the cluttered apartment. It wasn't the first time he had been inside, but the mess never failed to impress him. There were always dishes in the sink, way too much dirty laundry lying around, and the smell of an unnatural amount of Febreze. 

"So... you were with Asahi, huh?" Nishinoya fiddled nervously with his shirt, looking down.

"Yes, I was."

"Did he... did you guys talk about me?" He asked, a shy grin expressed on his lips.

"We did, actually," Sugawara responded, slipping off his shoes.

"Really?!" He looked up eagerly. "What did he say? Was it bad?" 

"Hmm. Depends. Come on, I want to talk to you." He made his way to the living room, where Tanaka was already sitting on the couch. He looked up. 

"Oh, hey man!" Looking between Nishinoya and Suga, Tanaka asked, "What are you doing here?" 

"I wanted to talk to Noya about something. Is it okay if we get some privacy?" Suga answered.

"Oh, yeah, no problem." He looked at Nishinoya, making a face that was something along the lines of _Are you in danger, and do you need me to stay?_ Nishinoya shook his head and shrugged. "I was just about to head over to Kiyoko's anyway," Tanaka said, grabbing his keys on the way out and waving goodbye. 

"Sooooo..." Nishinoya said after his roommate had left, sitting down on the couch nervously. "Are you going to tell me what all of this is about?"

"Asahi," Suga answered plainly, sitting down as well. 

"Yeah, well, I figured that out. But are you going to explain why he hasn't texted me back?" 

"Are you sure you don't remember anything you could have said last night?" Suga said, avoiding the question.

"Well... I mean," Nishinoya wrang his hands together. He _did_ remember something, but... it wasn't reason enough for Asahi to avoid him like this. Right?

Suga raised an eyebrow. "So you do?"

"I... could think of something. But it doesn't seem like a huge deal to me... I mean, I guess I can see how it would have made him uncomfortable but-"

"Uncomfortable?" Suga asked, clear frustration written on his face. "It made him more than uncomfortable! He was still sleeping when I got to his house at 1:00 in the afternoon! I mean, yes, he's a late sleeper but it's not _that_ bad unless something is wrong."

Nishinoya opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as Suga's rant continued.

"He _yelled_ at me, Nishinoya. Like, actually _shouted_!" Suga said, and Nishinoya's eyes widened. "You and I both know he doesn't yell unless something is really wrong. An-and he was saying all of this stuff about how he was a burden and-"

"Woah, wait. How could me trying to kiss him make him think he was a burden?" Nishinoya asked, confused.

Suga blinked. "What?"

"I, uh..." Nishinoya blushed, embarrassed. "I mean, I get how it could make him uncomfortable, b-but it shouldn't make him all depressed or anything should it?" 

Suga stared at him, and Noya shifted uncomfortably. "You... you tried to kiss Asahi?"

"Well, yeah, you know how I get when I'm drunk and-" He froze. "Wait... that isn't what we're talking about?!"

"I... no, no it is not." Suga pursed his lips, attempting to hide a smile. "In fact, he never even mentioned _that_."

"Oh." Nishinoya felt his face burn red. If he was lucky, it hadn't happened _at all_ and it was just a fake memory or dream that his alcohol-corrupted brain had made up. That would save him from some serious embarrassment. 

Suga's face turned serious once again. "You called him a coward."

"I... what?!" Nishinoya lifted his head from his hands. "I called him a coward? Last night?!"

Suga nodded. 

"Shit," Nishinoya breathed, feeling panic seize him. "Coward" was like a taboo word for Asahi. It was what Noya had said to him when they first fought back in high school. Years later, after they had finally made up, Suga informed him that Asahi always thought of himself as a coward even years later. Now, he had probably made his friend feel worse than ever. And after all that Asahi had done, searching everywhere for him the night before. "No wonder he's been avoiding me. I-how do I fix this?" He looked at Sugawara nervously.

Suga smiled. "We both know that Asahi is a forgiving person. He's not even mad at you. Like, I'm madder at you than he is. He was just kind of moping around and stuff."

"Then why was he not answering my texts?" 

"Well, he slept for half the day. But also, I told you, he felt like he was a burden. He has these..." Suga waved his hands around as he continued, "episodes where he just kind of shuts himself away from the world, from his friends. They used to happen a lot more in high school but he's gotten better about them now. Sometimes they were random, but a lot of the time it was because of something that happened. After the whole thing from last night, and Kiyoko telling me he hadn't come to work, I knew something was up. And, well..." He shrugged. "I was right."

"I need to apologize, like, right now." Nishinoya stood, running a hand through his gelled hair.

"Wait, wait." Suga pulled him back down to the couch. "Let's talk about this whole 'trying to kiss Asahi' thing." 

Nishinoya's face pinked again. "Um, no, let's not."

"Noya, c'mon."

"That's just how I get when I'm drunk!" Nishinoya defended. "You've seen me make out with Tanaka, like, a gazillion times!"

"Yes, but that was because you both liked the attention of it. Asahi isn't like that and you know it." Sugawara said patiently, smiling.

"Well, what do you want me to say?! That I have a big, fat crush on Asahi?!" Nishinoya said, throwing his hands up.

Suga raised his eyebrows. "Actually, ye-"

"Well, I _do_! I _do_ have a big, fat crush on him! So there!" He was standing again, walking towards the door as he grabbed his coat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go apologize to him before it's too late!" 

Sugawara laughed. "Alright then."

Nishinoya paused by the door. "There's... there's actually something else I need!" Quickly, he ran to his room. He came back with something in his arms.

"Is that-" Suga began to ask.

"Yup. I think... I think I should finally do something with it."

Sugawara nodded. "Well, don't just stand there!" He waved him off and Nishinoya ran out the door towards the bus stop.

* * *

Asahi hummed, sipping his tea as he sat on the couch. He was feeling better after spending time with Sugawara, who always knew how to cheer him up. He walked over to his desk, where he hadn't touched his phone at all since talking to Kiyoko. Setting down his mug, he picked it up. Wow, he had a _lot_ of unread text messages.

**Shimizu Kiyoko: Okay. Let me know if you need anything.**

Then, 14 minutes later, she had sent another text. 

**Shimizu Kiyoko: I am very sorry. I told Sugawara and now he's not going to stop bothering you. Sorry.**

Asahi smiled. He took a look at a few other text messages. 

**Koushi: Kiyoko told me you were sick, what's up? R you good? 🤨**

Then 8 minutes later,

**Koushi: Oh my god, if you're still asleep, I will come over and beat you up 😠😠👀**

2 minutes later, 

**Koushi: You're still asleep, aren't you? Omw to beat up your ass 😊😃💛💛💛**

**Koushi: This is your last chance, I'm coming over now 🚗🚗**

**Koushi: Aight, I see how it is. Prepare to face my wrath. I'm picking up sushi btw 😋😋**

Asahi laughed. Suga's texting was just _so_ entertaining. He scrolled through a few other texts. 

**Ryunosuke Tanaka: hey man, heard you weren't feeling good. i hope you feel better soon :)**

Asahi sent back a quick reply to thank him and apologize for not answering. Finally, his eyes fell on the contact he was dreading responding to. 

Around 8:00 that morning, Nishinoya had texted him.

**Yuu: heyyyy asahi (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ I'm coming over to the cafe to get some coffee be there in like 20 minutes**

24 minutes later, he said, 

**Yuu: hey kiyoko said you were sick today do u want me to come over???? i dont mind getting sick with you o(^▽^)o we can watch movies or something**

Another hour later, he texted again.

**Yuu: hey you good? i know you r probably sleeping cause you weren't feeling well but lmk if you need anything （*＾-＾*）**

An hour and half later, another text.

**Yuu: i know im probably being annoying sorry but you havent answered and you dont normally sleep this late so just talk to me when you can**

18 minutes later:

**Yuu: r u mad???**

**Yuu: is it abt last night??**

**Yuu: im sorry i ran off and you had to come looking for me**

**Yuu: was this about me trying to kiss you?? im rlly sorry coz tanaka and i always did it and i just act stupid whne im drunk and so im sorry**

**Yuu: can i come over?**

**Yuu: asahi pls respond**

**Yuu: im sorry**

Asahi felt his stomach flip as he read the texts. Nishinoya had probably been worried sick. About two hours later, he had texted again.

**Yuu: suga just called and said you guys were hanging out sorry for bothering you! im glad you r ok (～￣▽￣)～**

**Yuu: just talk to me when you can pls :)**

That was the end of it, plus another 8 missed calls. Feeling guilty, Asahi began typing a response.

**You: Hey Yuu, I'm really sorry about not responding. I'm not mad at you, I was just having a rough morning. Suga and I talked about it and I'm feeling better now. Again, I'm really sorry for making you worry. If it makes you feel better, I haven't looked at my phone since this morning when I asked Kiyoko to cover my shift. Want to hang out soon?**

He took a deep breath and sent it. In just a few seconds, Asahi saw the little chat bubble that indicated Noya was texting back. He held his breath.

**Yuu: can you unlock the door pls**

Asahi stared at the message. _What?! He's here? Now?!_

**Yuu: the xtra key isnt under the mat**

Suga must have taken it when he barged in.

**Yuu: hullo????**

Asahi groaned. He didn't want Nishinoya to think he was ignoring him again, but he probably looked awful right now. Hesitantly, Asahi made his way to the door. He unlocked it and opened it up.

There was Nishinoya, holding a broken mop in his arms and staring up at him, smiling nervously. "Hey." 

"Hi." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> suga is def the kind of person to use a TON of emojis when texting so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	9. Burdens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You believe me right? When I tell you that you aren't a burden?" Nishinoya asked, suddenly anxious.
> 
> Asahi nodded slowly. "I do. But... you might have to tell me more than once. I need a lot of validation." He rubbed his neck embarrassedly, but Nishinoya only smiled.
> 
> "I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyy (⊙_⊙;) 
> 
> OKAY I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE THIS I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME BUT I SWEAR THAT I'VE BEEN BUSY AND ALSO MY KEYBOARD IS KINDA BROKE
> 
> i just got back from a three-day volleyball tournament and I am very tired but I swore to myself that I would get the next chapter out tonight so I will (ﾟДﾟ*)ﾉ
> 
> (also follow me on tiktok @sidkozume :)

[(Song Rec: Bubble Gum {1hr loop} by Clairo)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x88lK7B9pHE)

"Hi," Nishinoya repeated as he stood in the doorway.

"You... said that already," Asahi pointed out, awkwardly. The eye contact was stressing him out.

"Oh..." Noya finally tore his eyes away from Asahi and peeked around him into the apartment. "Um... could I-?

"Oh, yeah, yes, sure." Asahi quickly moved to the side and gestured for Nishinoya to come in. He obliged, and Asahi followed him through the hallway. "So... uh, what are you holding?"

Nishinoya stopped and looked down at the broken mop in his arms as if he hadn't even noticed he was carrying it. He looked back up. "Oh, you don't...?" Noya trailed off, staring back down at the mop and frowning. "This was dumb. Why the fuck did I bring this?" 

"I... don't know?" Asahi offered. 

Nishinoya sighed and opened his arms, letting the mop's pieces clatter to the ground. "It was... remember back in high school when he had that fight?" He asked suddenly, staring at Asahi intently.

Asahi nodded nervously. He couldn't forget it even if he tried.

"Well..." Nishinoya scratched the back of his head as his eyes wandered sheepishly. "We... when we fought you, uh, stepped on this mop. Wait, no, I pushed you so it's not like... it isn't your fault. It sounded like I was blaming you just now but I wasn't I-"

"I remember." Asahi was looking at the broken pieces on the floor.

"You... oh."

They both stared down at the mop in silence for a moment before Asahi spoke up. 

"So why did you bring it?"

Nishinoya's blistered red. "Um... I don't know? I was in a hurry and my brain was like _brrr_ and I was like _ahh_ and I thought of the mop and I was like ' _I should bring it!'_ and so I did and I don't really know why maybe it's supposed to be symbolic or whatever and..." He trailed off.

"Why... did you keep it?" Asahi didn't mean for the question to sound so judgemental. "Not that it's a bad thing! I'm... just curious!" He added quickly.

Noya's face turned even pinker. "Okay... well after the fight nobody really touched it. We all kind of thought that you would... come back... and then we could fix it. No one touched it. I mean, one time Yachi almost threw it away but we all stopped her! She didn't know..." He took a breath. "And then... when you didn't come back, well, Suga suggested we throw it away and I-I said that I would do it but I didn't..." Nishinoya sighed and carded a hand through his gelled hair. "I think he knew I didn't throw it out. He saw it today and didn't seem surprised. I just thought... I don't know."

Asahi stared at him. This was... a _lot_ to process. He hadn't realized the fight had meant this much to Nishinoya. Guilt began to bubble deep in his brain once again, and he did his best to shove it down. 

"Oh, I-wait, why did Suga see it today?"

"Ohhhh, yeah Suga came over and told me everything," Nishinoya responded nonchalantly.

Asahi gaped in horror. "E-everything?!" He practically whispered.

"Yes? He told me that you thought you were a burden and shit, WHICH," Nishinoya reached up and grabbed Asahi's face, pulled him down to eye level so that he was forced to crouch awkwardly. "IF YOU EVER CALL YOURSELF A BURDEN AGAIN I WILL BEAT YOUR ASS!"

Asahi could only nod, wide-eyed. He was all too aware of how close their faces were. 

Nishinoya took in a deep breath, seemingly unaware of the obvious blush on Asahi's cheeks. "Listen, Asahi, you are very important to me. You... could _never_ be a burden to me. I love spending time with you. It's basically the only thing I look forward to now and-" He swallowed, "I don't ever want you to push me away because you think that I _don't_ want you." His eyes widened before he quickly corrected himself. "Don't want you around, I mean! That's what I meant. And I do. Want you around."

"Ah, right." Asahi felt like he wasn't breathing. 

"But, well, if you ever need space, I understand." Nishinoya quickly continued. "I know that I can be overwhelming at times, and loud, and obnoxious, and really, _really_ annoying. I've been told I give people headaches so-"

"Yuu, stop." Asahi placed his hands over Nishinoya's, which were still firmly holding his face. It felt natural, Asahi's big, gentle hands framing Noya's small and rough ones. "I like having you around as well. Quite a lot. I don't need space."

Nishinoya's ears turned an even darker shade of red. "B-but if you ever did-"

"I don't."

They stared at each other. They had been doing an awful lot of staring lately.

"You know what else Suga told me?" Nishinoya said suddenly.

Asahi felt his mouth go dry and he quickly dropped his hands, but Nishinoya's grasp remained firm. "W-what?!" _What does Suga know?!_

"That... you..." Nishinoya began, purposefully talking irritatingly slow. "WATCHED ' _TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE'_ WITHOUT ME!"

Asahi's sigh of relief was much more obvious than he would have liked it to be. "Yuu... you actually had me scared."

"YOU SHOULD BE SCARED!" Nishinoya insisted. "HOW DARE YOU WATCH IT WHEN YOU KNOW IT'S MY FAVORITE MOVIE!" Nishinoya released Asahi's face to throw his hands into the air. "AND-wait. What did you think I was going to say? Are you... actually hiding something?" He raised a melodramatic eyebrow and grinned.

Asahi laughed nervously. "No... Do you want to watch it now?" 

Nishinoya's face lit up. Asahi wished he could press pause on that look, wished he could replay it over and over until he got tired of it except he never would stop replaying it because he would never get tired of it. He would never get tired of Nishinoya.

"I-as much as I want to watch it, I want to talk more. About what happened." Noya said. 

"About what happened?"

"Yeah... the fight we had in high school. We, well, never _actually_ talked about it."

"I guess we didn't." Asahi had been ignoring it, the memories, the guilt, for so long that it had practically become second nature. To talk about it felt strangely bizarre.

"So," Nishinoya plopped down on the floor, in the middle of the hallway, and placed his hands on his knees as he sat cross-legged.

"So..." Asahi followed his lead, sitting down and tucking his knees up to his chest. "Um, what exactly should we-"

"I'm sorry," Nishinoya interrupted. He looked down at his lap. "For the things I said. All of that... I didn't mean it. I'm sure you know that but in case you didn't, I'm telling you now. I don't think you're a coward. I know you're brave. And," He looked up and Asahi saw that his eyes were wet. "I will never think of you as a burden."

"Yuu..." Asahi found himself opening his arms without hesitation, and Nishinoya quickly crawled over to him. He buried his head in Asahi's broad chest. "I'm sorry as well. I was acting like a coward, and you were right to call me out on it. It... made me realize a lot of things."

Nishinoya sniffed, and said through a voice muffled by Asahi's shirt, "Like what?"

"Like," Asahi began. "How I don't stand up for myself because I'm scared. That fight was... probably the first time I ever fought back."

Nishinoya poked his head up from Asahi's chest and looked up. It was probably the cutest sight ever known to mankind, another moment Asahi could rewatch over and over. "What are you scared of?" Noya asked.

"I'm scared that... that I'll say something that I'll regret, which I did, and that... people would hate me." 

Noya frowned. "That's stupid." Asahi laughed, and Nishinoya's frown was quickly replaced with a smile. "Really, though, who could ever hate you?"

Asahi felt his gaze wander and his smile turn stale. "You'd be surprised."

After a few moments, when he heard no answer, he turned his attention back to Nishinoya, worried that he did something to freak him out. 

But the way Nishinoya looked at him was unexpected. It was filled with worry, with genuine, unfiltered concern. It was a look that only someone who really loved you could give you. Asahi knew that look well. It was the way that he found himself looking at Nishinoya. 

"Asahi." Nishinoya reached up and gently cupped Asahi's face with one hand. This touch was different than before, soft, loving. It was filled with adoration, and Asahi never wanted it to stop. 

"Yuu." Asahi responded, and he watched the way that Nishinoya's eyes crinkled as he smiled. 

"I don't hate you," Noya said. "I know it probably doesn't matter what I think, but I don't hate you." 

He had no idea just _how much_ it mattered. 

"You believe me right? When I tell you that you aren't a burden?" Nishinoya asked, suddenly anxious.

Asahi nodded slowly. "I do. But... you might have to tell me more than once. I need a lot of validation." He rubbed his neck embarrassedly, but Nishinoya only smiled.

"I will. As many times as you need me to. And I mean it when I say I don't think anyone could hate you. You're the nicest person I know."

Asahi remained silent. He had been dreading this moment for a while. But he knew, deep down, that Nishinoya wouldn't care. Things might not even change. It was best to just tell him now.

"I'm gay."

Nishinoya slowly slid his hand from Asahi's face and he rushed to continue. "A-and my parents are pretty traditional so they never really, uh, liked... gay people? So when they found out there was this big fight and I wouldn't say my mom hates me, but she doesn't talk to me really anymore. I think my dad does. Hate me, I mean."

"Oh." Was the only thing that Nishinoya responded with.

Asahi felt panic seize him. He was wrong, so wrong. Apparently, Nishinoya _did_ care. Now everything was ruined. And-

"I support you."

Asahi looked up. He hadn't realized he was shaking until now. "Y-you do?"

Nishinoya's eyes widened and he nodded. "Of course. I am also... that."

"Gay?"

"Yes, well, no. Kind of? I'm bisexual." He smiled proudly and Asahi felt his jaw metaphorically _drop_. 

"I-uh, also support you." Was all he could manage.

Nishinoya burst into laughter. "Um, _duh._ " When he finished laughing, he asked, "So... who else knows?"

"Tadashi and Kiyoko. Suga has probably figured it out. Oh, and... that random lady we met at the bar." Asahi answered.

Noya glared at him. "You... told Yubie? Before me?!"

Asahi was pretty sure he was saying her name wrong on purpose now; he decided it was best to _not_ correct him. "Yes, to get her to leave me alone." _I also confessed my undying love for you to her,_ he thought.

Nishinoya nodded but tilted his head. "So Tadashi knows? I mean, I knew you guys were friends, but I didn't think you guys were, like, _close._ " Asahi was sure he saw a little hurt in Noya's eyes. 

"No, well, we are good friends. We actually met before you introduced us. Um, anyway, I ended up... ranting to him and, because he was a total stranger at the time, I... told him I was gay." _More or less what happened. Minus also confessing my undying love for you to him as well. I should stop doing that._

Noya nodded his head. "Besides you, the only people who know about me is Tanaka and Suga. And I told Tanaka yesterday when I was drunk. Suga only found out today." He smiled. "But I don't really care who knows, so you can tell people if you want."

Asahi raised his eyebrows. "I won't. It's not my place to."

Nishinoya smiled even wider. "See? The nicest person I know." He stood up from his place on the floor and stretched his hand out to Asahi. "C'mon, I want to watch the movie now." 

Asahi took his hand and stood. They left the mop pieces lying in the hallway.

"We are cool, right?" Nishinoya asked, fidgeting with his hair. 

Asahi nodded and smiled. "Yes. We are definitely cool."

Noya's face lit up again, eyes crinkled. "Good. Because I want to watch that movie now." He dragged Asahi to the couch and found the remote. He knew well enough by now how to use Asahi's TV by now, and quickly found the movie. 

As the movie ended and the credits rolled, Nishinoya yawned and mumbled,

"Hey, Asahi?"

"Hmm?"

"You aren't a burden. Just wanted to remind you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHA YOU THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE WHERE THE CONFESSION HAPPENED DIDN'T YOU???!!!!!!! IF YOU THINK THIS SLOW BURN WOULD END THAT PAINLESSLY YOU ARE WRONG! SUFFER! HAHAHAHA


	10. Sheila the Broom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi smiled to himself. Just yesterday, he had been an emotional wreck, unable to even pull himself from bed. It was a miracle how easily this boy could make him so happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry for not writing recently
> 
> i decided you guys deserve some fluff since you waited for so long :)

[(Song Rec: Cherry {1 hr loop} by Harry Styles)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiU_-2Cvxac)

"No." 

"Oh, c'mon, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Nishinoya whined, tugging on Asahi's arm.

Asahi laughed. "No way! We aren't naming the broom Sheila."

Nishinoya perked up. "But we are naming it?"

"Wh-NO! Why would we name it?" Asahi couldn't withhold his laugher as he finished taping up the broom. It looked... awful, and would probably never be functional again. But that didn't matter. Taping the broom was symbolic, in a way. 

"Becauseeee," Nishinoya headbutted Asahi's shoulder. "It's like... our baby!"

Asahi pulled away, his face burning red. "What?!"

"Yeah!" Nishinoya continued, grinning sadistically. "I mean... we can't have a _real_ kid so-"

"YUU!" Asahi laughed and buried his face in his hands.

"Well..." Nishinoya sidled up closer to Asahi, grinning even wider, "We sure could try..."

"Stop!" Asahi shrieked and pushed at Noya jokingly.

He rolled his eyes as Nishinoya dramatically fell to the floor, exaggerating and purposely rolling backward as he shouted, "ROLLING THUNDER!"

Asahi shushed him. "I have neighbors y'know! And it's really late." But he couldn't contain his own laughter.

"You're right, you're right... I wouldn't want to wake the baby." He gestured to the misshapen broom on the floor, somehow managing to keep a straight face as he stared at Asahi.

"Pfft," Asahi smiled. He glanced at the time on his phone. "Gosh, it's already almost 4 A.M. and I have work in the morning. Let's head to bed." There was some kind of unspoken understanding that Nishinoya would be staying the night.

Nishinoya placed his hands on his hips and nodded seriously. "Yes, yes, I agree but... we have to put Sheila to bed first." He scooped up the broom and cradled it awkwardly, bouncing it up and down. 

Asahi snorted. "And just where are we supposed to put _Sheila_?" 

"Hmm," Noya dramatically tapped his finger on his chin. Honestly, at this point in the night, everything was hilarious to Asahi and he couldn't contain his laughter. Nishinoya seemed to revel in making Asahi laugh so much. "I've got it!" He held his finger up and smiled, then let his arms open as the broom clattered to the ground. "She can sleep there." He nodded solemnly and turned on his heel towards Asahi's room.

Asahi snickered again as he followed Noya through the hallway. Nishinoya was already taking off his shirt as he walked, and Asahi caught himself admiring the angel tattoo again. That stupid piece of art would be the death of him one day. 

Nishinoya shimmied out of his pants as he stepped into the bedroom, leaving him in only his boxers. Asahi wasn't too shocked anymore by the idea of Noya sleeping in his underwear; he did it every time he slept over. Still, he found himself staring for maybe longer than necessary.

Noya turned and their eyes met. Asahi felt his face flush pink, but Nishinoya smirked. "What? Admiring my glorious bod?" He flexed his arms comedically. The two of them burst into laughter once again. 

Nishinoya climbed into Asahi's bed and patted the other side. 

"I forgot to brush my hair," Asahi commented as he loosened his hair from its ponytail. He felt Noya's eyes on his back as he walked to his bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and took his brush from its shelves, then began making his way back. By the time he got to the doorway, he was already brushing out the ends. _Yikes, I need a hair cut_ , he thought as he combed through some of his split ends.

"Can I do it?"

Asahi looked up and saw Noya staring at him from the bed. It took a moment for Asahi to realize that he was talking about brushing his hair.

"Uh, yeah... I guess so." Asahi sat down on the bed, his weight pressuring the mattress around him. He handed the brush to Nishinoya. "But, uh, my mom always said I was "tender-headed" so..." He chuckled.

"I'll be gentle," Nishinoya said softly. His demeanor had changed so fast.

He _was_ gentle. He started at the ends, brushing out the tangles before slowly moving up. Asahi felt his shoulders relax and he closed his eyes. When Noya had finished, he set the brush gently on the bed and let his fingers wander through Asahi's scalp. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling. In fact, it was quite the opposite. That is until Asahi felt Nishinoya's head lean onto his shoulder; that was when his heartbeat began to pick up. 

"Uh, Yuu?" He questioned softly.

"Hmm?" He grunted in response, his nose still buried on Asahi's exposed shoulder. 

"We should... we should go to bed now."

"Mhmm," He mumbled, but didn't move. 

Asahi smiled. He raised his hand to Noya's forehead and gently pushed back the messy hair. He could smell the gel he used in the mornings. Carefully, Asahi twisted his body and steadied Nishinoya gently with his arms. Noya wrapped his own arms around Asahi's back, reburying his face into Asahi's chest. _Hopefully, he can't hear my goddamn heartbeat..._ Asahi thought.

Nishinoya inhaled. "Mm. You smell good," He commented, though his voice was muffled by Asahi's shirt.

Asahi's ears reddened. "Ah, thank you." He dipped slowly and set Nishinoya down on the mattress. He pulled back, assuming Noya would be too tired to hold on, but he was mistaken. "Nooo!" Nishinoya groaned as Asahi tried to pull away.

"Yuu..."

"You're so warm and cuddly," Noya pouted, keeping his eyes closed. "Just lay down with me?" 

"O-okay..." Asahi whispered, unsure. He quietly laid down next to Nishinoya and pulled the comforter over the two of them. 

* * *

Asahi woke up to his usual alarm, curled around a familiar, warm, and very much awake boy. A pair of big, bronze eyes stared back at him. 

"Uh... good morning," Asahi croaked. He had forgotten that Noya was a morning person, unlike himself. _How long has he been awake?_

Nishinoya's face pinked. "Good... morning."

"How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. I didn't want to wake you up." Noya smiled.

"Oh... you could have, I wouldn't have minded."

"Eh," Nishinoya shrugged, still looking at Asahi, "You make a nice pillow anyways."

Asahi chuckled, hoping it would draw Nishinoya's attention away from his reddening face. He sat up, immediately feeling the loss of warmth as he pulled away from Noya. "C'mon, we still have some time before I have to be at work. I'll make breakfast." 

Asahi made his way to the kitchen, stepping over Sheila's terribly taped frame. The pitter-patter of small feet indicated that Nishinoya was right behind him.

"Is bacon and eggs alright?" Asahi asked as he scanned his fridge. He hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while, so his options were limited.

"Yes! I love bacon!" Nishinoya said eagerly as he hopped up onto Asahi's kitchen counter. 

Asahi smiled to himself. Just yesterday, he had been an emotional wreck, unable to even pull himself from bed. It was a miracle how easily this boy could make him so happy.

Nishinoya hummed and kicked his feet happily from on top of the counter. Asahi twisted his head to glance at him and smiled, but he wasn't discreet enough for Nishinoya to miss it. 

"What?" He demanded a smile of his own growing on his face.

"Nothing!" But Asahi's smile grew even wider out of embarrassment.

"Tell meeee!"

"You just... you're gonna be mad if I say it," Asahi snickered.

"Nuh-uh, I won't!"

"Alright, fine! You just looked like a little kid when you swing your legs like that." 

Nishinoya gasped in mock offense. "Is it because I'm short! How dare you!"

"No, no! It was... cute." Asahi blushed and turned back to the stovetop.

"You said I looked like a child and now you're saying it's cute? Creepy, Asahi!" Nishinoya snorted.

"What? No! I was just saying I thought _you_ were cute, it had nothing to do with you looking like a kid!" Asahi only realized what he had said after the words had already slipped out. He quickly turned his head to see Nishinoya's reaction, hoping he hadn't freaked him out.

Nishinoya's kicking legs had stilled, and his face was a vibrant red. Asahi couldn't contain his laughter as Noya groaned and buried his head in his hands. "You're the worst," He groaned through a smile.

"Ouch." Asahi rolled his eyes and dished out the bacon and eggs. "There's orange juice in the fridge if you want some," Asahi said as he handed Noya his plate.

They sat at the table, eating in comfortable silence. Asahi glanced at the clock in the kitchen. _Whoops, I have to leave in half an hour_. He scooped the rest of the food in his mouth and dropped his dish in the sink. "I have to leave pretty soon for work, but you can stay as long as you want."

"I'll come with you! It feels like I haven't been to the cafe in forever." Nishinoya followed him to the bathroom, and Asahi gestured to a drawer where he kept spare toothbrushes.

"Sorry I can't take the day off to hang out with you," Asahi apologized. "I didn't go to work yesterday, and I don't want to make a habit of it."

"No, it's fine. Being responsible is part of having a job. Well, it's a part of _most_ jobs, I guess. Unless you walk dogs, then it's all about having fun!" Nishinoya smirked and gestured to himself with his thumb, his toothbrush still in his mouth.

"So _that's_ what you do? I've been wondering how you've been making money." Asahi chuckled and rinsed off his own toothbrush.

"Have I never told you that before? I guess I haven't had any jobs lately." Nishinoya shrugged as they walked back to Asahi's room. "It's temporary, of course. I want to find a job that I really like _and_ that pays well _._ " He smirked, "Maybe I should find a sugar daddy..."

Asahi snorted. "You're insane." He pulled a shirt from his dresser. "You should just start keeping some of your clothes at my place," Asahi commented as Noya searched through his clothes to find something that might fit. 

Nishinoya grinned. "Marking my territory, huh?" 

"Oh my god."

* * *

"Soooooooo..." Suga wiggled his eyebrows as he sipped his tea. "You and Nishinoya are good now, yeah?"

Asahi nodded from behind the counter. "Honestly, things feel even better than before."

"Hm," Sugawara hummed knowingly. "That's good," He said as he took another sip.

"ASAHI!" Nishinoya shouted, hastily returning from the bathroom. "Did you know that there are _To All the Boys I've Loved Before_ Books?!" He sat back down in his chair, picking his espresso back up. Maybe Asahi should have gotten him something decaf. "Can't believe they wrote _books_ about those movies. Crazy..." He mumbled.

Asahi smiled.

"Well," Suga said, setting down his empty mug on the counter and standing from his stool. "I've got to head out now. Daichi and I are going to the movies. I'll see you two later." He grinned and walked out.

"OH! Asahi, we should go to the movies too!" Nishinoya exclaimed suddenly.

Asahi blushed, trying not to think about how much the proposition sounded like a date. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. But maybe not tonight. I told Kiyoko and Yachi that I would take a few more shifts to make up for yesterday."

"Aww, alright," Nishinoya sighed and rested his chin on his hand. "Plus, we _do_ have a baby to take care of."

Asahi glared at Noya.

"What? This is what you get for letting me name a broom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okayyyyyyy i had them fix the broom ¯\\(°_o)/¯ i just couldnt resist :)


	11. Yachi's Giant Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Thank you for inviting me!" Kanoka bent low and kissed Yachi.
> 
> Yachi's face beamed pink as she looked back at the boys. "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Kanoka Amanai. We started dating a few weeks ago."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS USER Let_me_do_space MADE A PLAYLIST FOR THIS FIC PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZxpdthtgZmdnbBlwmtWtF
> 
> ALSO SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT, I SWEAR ITS IMPORTANT
> 
> ANYWAYS ENJOY (AND FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK @sidkozume)

[(Song Rec: Pretty Girl {1 hr} By Clairo)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWZL6nWYUmM)

When Nishinoya suggested that the two of them go to the movies, Asahi had assumed that it would be _just_ the two of them. Like a date. He was a little disappointed when he found out that Noya had invited other people. Of course, they weren't people he didn't like, they were his friends. It wasn't like it was going to be a date anyway; Nishinoya didn't see him like that. 

Noya invited Tanaka first, who asked if Kiyoko could come along. Asahi was actually kind of glad that she was going because when Tanaka and Nishinoya were acting like their goofy selves together, he would have Kiyoko to hang out with.

Since Nishinoya was inviting Tanaka, Asahi asked if Yamaguchi and Tsukishima could come as well. It had been a while since he had seen Tadashi, though the two made sure to text and call regularly, often for updates on the others' crush. Nishinoya said that it was fine. To Tsukishima's dismay, Kiyoko invited Yachi as well. He still seemed convinced that Yachi had a crush on Yamaguchi, though Asahi wasn't so sure.

Asahi was the first one there. He hated being late, it made him feel like he was annoying everybody else, so he almost always arrived at least 10 minutes early to things. Today, however, he was only 8 minutes early, which would have normally made him anxious. But he just felt excited. 

They were watching some action movie that Nishinoya and Tanaka had insisted on. Tsukishima claimed he only agreed to come because apparently dinosaurs were involved, but Asahi suspected it had more to do with a certain freckled face who was also attending. It seemed that Tsukishima also liked to arrive early because he showed up only a few minutes after Asahi.

He gave Asahi a brief nod as he approached, hands shoved deep in his jacket. 

"Hey Tsukishima, how have you been?" Asahi greeted politely. 

Tsukishima nodded again. "Alright. You?"

"Pretty good."

The conversation drifted into an awkward silence as the two of them waited together outside the theatre. Soon, they heard a familiar and cheerful voice call out, "Hey Guys!"

Both turned to see a tiny, blonde girl run towards them. Her cheeks were rosy and her smile wide. Yachi had seemed in an especially good mood lately at work.

Asahi didn't need to look at Tsukishima to know he was already scowling at the poor girl, but she didn't seem to notice his annoyance and continued her approach with a smile. She was no longer scared of Asahi like she was when they had first met; in fact, the two got along pretty well. 

"Asahi, Tsukishima-kun, how are you guys?" She asked cheerfully. At work, she called him Asahi-san, seeing as to how he was her boss. But after hours, he insisted that she only call him Asahi, to which she agreed (though it did take some convincing).

"Great," Asahi responded, happy for her presence to ease the awkwardness. Tsukishima simply responded with a grunt and looked away. Her smile faded for a moment, but she quickly turned back to Asahi to make polite small talk. 

"Oh, I invited somebody else, by the way. I wanted you guys to meet her. I hope that's alright," She said almost apologetically.

Tsukishima tsked. "You invited a stranger?"

She gave him a nervous smile. "I'm sure you guys will like her, she-"

"This was supposed to for our friends from high school, you shouldn't be just inviting random people." His scowl deepened as he continued, "Of course, _you_ certainly seem interested in Yamaguchi in a 'more than friend' kind of way." 

Both Asahi and Yachi stood there, stunned. What Tsukishima had said wasn't exactly true. Kiyoko and Tanaka were a couple, and they were attending together. Besides, strictly speaking, Asahi hadn't really been friends with any of them during high school except Kiyoko (and Nishinoya, though only for his second year).

"I-" Yachi tried, but was cut off by Tsukishima again.

"Just stay away from him. He's not interested," He snapped.

"Tsukishima, I know, I-" She was interrupted for the third time, but this time from a new voice.

"Hitoka!" A girl's voice called from the parking lot as she shut her car door. The girl was over a foot taller than Yachi, with short, black hair. Yachi turned and smiled wide at the girl.

"Kanoka!" Yachi squealed as the stranger ran over and embraced her. "I'm glad you could make it," Yachi sighed as the girl, Kanoka, pulled away.

"Thank you for inviting me!" Kanoka bent low and kissed Yachi.

Yachi's face beamed pink as she looked back at the boys. "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Kanoka Amanai. We started dating a few weeks ago."

Asahi smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Amanai, I'm Asahi Azumane," He said and she smiled back. Asahi glanced over at Tsukishima, who was gaping at Yachi. 

"You... you're a..." He trailed off and turned his attention to Kanoka.

"I'm, um, sorry for the misunderstanding Tsukishima." Yachi blushed as she took the taller woman's hand in her own. "I wasn't interested in Yamaguchi, he was giving me advice to ask out Kanoka." She smiled apologetically. "That's why we were spending so much time together. Anyway, I figured it was about time you guys met her, so I decided to invite her tonight. I'm sorry I didn't ask first."

"I... it's alright. Sorry," Tsukishima mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Don't worry about it," She said. "Oh! There are Tanaka and Kiyoko!" She pointed to the parking lot where Tanaka was opening the car door for Kiyoko. She waved and the couple waved back. "They were the ones who introduced me to Kanoka, actually," She giggled.

"Kanoka!" Tanaka greeted loudly as he greeted the group, and quickly pulled the taller girl into a hug. "I didn't know you were going to be here!" He grinned.

"Hitoka invited me," She said and Tanaka grinned even wider.

Kiyoko hugged Kanoka as well. "We're glad you're here," She smiled sweetly before moving to hug Yachi as well.

Yamaguchi was next to arrive. "Hey, guys!" He shouted as he approached the group, and no one could ignore the way Tsukishima's eyes lit up. He smiled as he saw Yachi and her girlfriend. "Amanai, hey! I'm glad you came," He smiled as he stooped down to embrace Yachi. "Aren't I great at giving advice?" He grinned at her and she swatted him away playfully.

Tsukishima watched the display in front of him. "S-so you aren't..." He trailed off as he looked between the two of them.

Yamaguchi frowned. "Aren't what?"

"ASAHIIIIIIIIIII!" A familiar voice called from behind Asahi, interrupting the tense moment. He turned and saw Nishinoya just in time before he leaped onto the taller boy and laughed. 

"Hey, your best friend is here too, you know?" Tanaka frowned but he was smiling from ear to ear.

Nishinoya looked around. "Really? Where?" 

Tanaka punched Noya in the arm and the boys laughed together. Kiyoko rolled her eyes and walked over to Asahi. "They never grow up," She mumbled and Asahi chuckled.

"Nishinoya, meet my girlfriend." Yachi gestured towards Kanoka, who stepped forward and smiled down at Noya.

"Kanoka Amanai, it's nice to meet you." The tall girl held her hand out to Noya, who shook it eagerly. 

"Wow, Yachi, you've got game!" He grinned and high-fived a very enthusiastic Yachi. "How did you two meet?" He asked as the group began walking into the movie theatre.

"Well," She began. She looked over at Kiyoko, who smiled and nodded encouragingly. "I, uh, back in high school, I kind of had a crush on Kiyoko, and Kanoka had a crush on Tanaka. Both of us... got rejected." She laughed nervously and Kanoka squeezed her hand. "But the two of them introduced us a few months ago and, well, after weeks of nervously dancing around the subject, I finally got the courage to ask her out."

"Thanks to me," Tadashi elbowed Asahi and winked.

"And I said yes." Kanoka smiled down at Yachi affectionately.

The group let out a collective "aww," and Asahi smiled to himself. He had had a feeling that Tsukishima's theory of Yachi's crush had been a little misplaced. 

"Wait, so that means all of us are gay except those two," Nishinoya gestured to Tanaka and Kiyoko as the group lined up to buy their movie tickets. 

"Only for you, babe," Tanaka winked at Nishinoya and Kiyoko rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Psh, Tsukki isn't gay," Yamaguchi chuckled. Everyone went silent for a moment and Tsukishima quickly averted his gaze. Yamaguchi looked up at him. "Tsukki?" 

Tsukishima cleared his throat at the desk. "Two tickets for that dumb dinosaur movie, please."

* * *

"That was easily the dumbest movie I've ever watched," Tsukishima grumbled as they exited the theatre. 

Tanaka rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry guys, probably should've looked into the quality a bit more."

"I've definitely seen worst," Yamaguchi said, elbowing Tsukishima in the side. "Remember when Kyoutani made us watch _Little Shop of Horrors_ with Yahaba because if he watched a real horror movie, he would have screamed like a little girl," He laughed and Asahi spotted a smile tugging at the corner of Tsukishima's lips.

"Hey! _Little Shop of Horrors_ isn't that bad!" Nishinoya quickly defended.

Tsukishima smiled. "It was the 1986 version." 

"There's an older one?" Nishinoya gasped and quickly looked to Asahi. "We need to watch it together!"

"He wanted to impress Yahaba so badly," Yamaguchi laughed as he reminisced.

The group dispersed slowly, each saying good night to each other. Nishinoya pulled Asahi aside.

"Is it alright if I stay with you tonight? Kiyoko is sleeping over and I really don't want to be at the apartment when they do... whatever it is they plan to do," Nishinoya blushed awkwardly.

Asahi smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. C'mon, let's head to the bus stop." 

As they walked back, Asahi glanced at Nishinoya. He was smiling and skipping brightly. He didn't seem at all upset despite having spent the whole night seeing Tanaka and Kiyoko together. In fact, he seemed happier than ever. 

When the pair made it back to his apartment, Asahi set his phone down on the couch in the living room and made his way to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I can make us some ramen or something?" He asked.

Nishinoya smiled. "Ramen sounds good!" 

Asahi hummed and took out the minute made cups of ramen he always had in his cupboard. Nishinoya leaned against the counter and watched as he worked. This was domestic, it was nice. Their friendship had felt unbreakable lately.

Asahi handed Nishinoya his cup of ramen and the two ate together on the couch. Suddenly, Asahi's phone rang. He frowned. _Who would be calling me this late?_ Asahi wondered as he glanced at the clock and noticed it was after 9.

He picked up the phone and stared at the caller ID.

"Asahi?" Nishinoya glanced at him, puzzled.

"Hello?" Asahi answered the phone weakly.

 _"Hello Dear..."_ A woman's voice responded from the phone. 

Asahi's voice cracked as he spoke again. "Mom?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SAW A SHIP POST ON TIKTOK FOR YACHI AND KANOKA AND THOUGHT IT WAS ADORABLE SO YEAH


End file.
